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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264802">A Journey in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicor_Fyrweorm/pseuds/Nicor_Fyrweorm'>Nicor_Fyrweorm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Last of the Time Lords [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Time Lords (Doctor Who), Character Death, Gen, I Don't Even Know, Implied/Referenced Character Death, The Hobbit References, The Lord of the Rings References, The Master Has Issues (Doctor Who), This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:13:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,931</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicor_Fyrweorm/pseuds/Nicor_Fyrweorm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Amy wanted to have a good time with her boys, one last trip before the wedding. Rory wanted a party to make up for his stag, something truly worth of traveling in space and time. A businessman wanted to find the saboteurs so work could continue… and he wanted his daughter back too.</p><p>The Master wanted to get rid of those annoying Ponds so he could get back to figuring out a way to bring the Doctor back.</p><p> </p><p>Or the one where some people get what they want, others get what they need, and the time travelers only lose.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amy Pond/Rory Williams, The Master &amp; Amy Pond (Doctor Who), The Master &amp; Rory Williams</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Last of the Time Lords [10]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511825</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Journey in the Dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Beware the <b>Major Character Death</b> warning. You can probably guess what episode this chapter has replaced…</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She runs, stumbling through tunnels barely illuminated by strange moss she doesn't waste time trying to analyze. Her hands are bound at her back, making her steps unsteady despite how flat and clear the rocky ground is, but she has lost a shoe and so she keeps tripping on her skirt. </p><p>She chances a look back, unnerved by the echo of her steps and harsh breathing against the wall, but with no sound of any pursuit, and sees nothing. Despite how relieved she should be feeling, it only helps her grow even more worried. It can't be possible that she's gone so far unnoticed, not with her captor— </p><p>She whirls around and skids to a stop when she hears the thud coming from the front, followed by a hiss and a hint of gray and metal glinting in the eerie pale green light— </p><p>There's a sharp stab at the base of her neck, cutting her scream short, and the world goes black before she can feel herself hit the ground. </p>
<hr/><p>“Here we are! Rio de Janeiro!” the Doctor proclaims as he opens the door of the TARDIS, but when he doesn't step out, tilting his head at whatever he sees, Rory knows they landed in the wrong place <i>again.</i> “Well, someplace close by,” he adds, finally stepping away from the entrance so Amy and Rory can go outside too. </p><p>“It's a cave,” Amy deadpans, looking at the rocky walls all around them and the dark tunnel stretching from the cavern they landed in. “Is it even 2239, or did you get us to the wrong year too?” </p><p>“Sometime in the 1880s, actually,” the Doctor answers absentmindedly, running his screwdriver over a patch of pale moss growing on a wall. </p><p>“Great. And here I thought giving a second try to our wedding gift would mean we would actually get it,” Rory huffs, disappointed despite knowing better than to expect the Doctor to land them where they actually want. </p><p>He'd really thought he would do it this time, though. When the Doctor had asked at what time they would like to be brought back to Leadworth for their wedding and Amy had insisted on a proper wedding gift, Rory had really thought they would actually get to do some proper space and time travel. </p><p>Sure, they'd been to Sicily in 750 BC, and Cardiff in 2008, but when Amy had turned to Rory for ideas, he had only managed to think about how the Doctor had crashed his stag, so Rory deserved something as good or even better, right? </p><p>And the Doctor had blinked and answered with a really large and toothy grin. </p><p>“Oh, I know <i>exactly</i> where to take you! The Carnival of Rio de Janeiro of 2239 was the best of the century, you'll love it!” he'd exclaimed, already whizzing around the console to input the commands, and Rory and Amy had grabbed onto the railing for dear life. </p><p>An advantage of going to a carnival is that they didn't need to change. So, here they are now, with Amy in her red and white thin sweater and black shorts, Rory with his jeans and green sweater, and the Doctor in black jeans, gray cardigan and the second shirt they got him in Cardiff, a simple white one with text in black reading <i>Breaking News: I Don't Care. </i></p><p>To no one's surprise, he'd taken to that one far better than the one with the chick. But well, <i>that one</i> had been too good to pass up. And, hey, Amy and Rory are still alive and with all their limbs attached, so he can't have hated it as much as he said, right? </p><p>Right. </p><p>“What happens now? Do we try again, go change and leave the cave, or what?” Amy asks, rubbing her arms to chase away the chill from the cave—and something flashes on her hand. </p><p>Rory frowns at it before startling when he recognizes it. </p><p>“What are you doing with that?” he asks, grabbing Amy's hand to pull it closer to his face and confirm that, yes, the thing that caught the TARDIS' light <i>is</i> her wedding ring. </p><p>“Oh, you know. Rio de Janeiro, all of those toned bodies and tan skin, I thought I would need a reminder not to run away,” she answers with a cheeky grin, wagging her fingers to have the ring glint in the light again. </p><p>“Amy, it's <i>Rio de Janeiro.</i> What if it gets stolen, or lost, or—” </p><p>“Ugh, you're such a worrywart,” she cuts with a huff, rolling her eyes, and Rory puffs up, insulted. “Alright, I'll leave it in the TARDIS,” she adds with a smile, silencing his protests with a brief kiss. </p><p>“Hurry up, Amelia!” the Doctor calls from where he's standing next to the tunnel going out of the cave, using his screwdriver as a torch. </p><p>Amy huffs and rushes back inside, and Rory puts his hands in his pockets and joins the Doctor after sending a dreamy smile back to the TARDIS. </p><p>Oh, he just loves Amy <i>so much.</i> And they're about to get married. Him, Rory Williams, is about to marry Amy Pond. <i>Him. </i></p><p>“Please, wipe that smile off your face before I throw up,” the Doctor scoffs, rolling his eyes, and Rory startles before he realizes he was still smiling at the TARDIS. “As if I wasn't regretting picking you up already.” </p><p>“You're a bundle of joy, you know that?” Rory huffs, shoulders slumping, and the Doctor answers with an unabashed grin. “How can anyone be such an asshole?” </p><p>“Years of practice. No, wait, it's a talent,” he answers without missing a beat, his grin turning smug, and Rory decides he'd better just drop the topic. </p><p>With someone as moody as the Doctor, it's impossible to have a normal conversation. It's either snark, insults, him being clever, or just going completely mad. There's no middle point. </p><p>Rory would say it's an alien thing, but the Lady Lamia wasn't like that at all, so he'll just say it's a Doctor thing. </p><p>“Ready!” Amy exclaims, hurrying out of the TARDIS and pulling the door behind her so hard that it closes with a loud <i>crack</i> that echoes against the walls— </p><p>And a rumble fills the chamber, making the ground shake and forcing Rory and the Doctor to crouch even as Amy stumbles forward— </p><p>With a loud roar and a cloud of dust, the TARDIS tips backwards into the collapsing ground. </p><p>“No!” </p><p>“Amy!” </p><p>Both Rory and the Doctor rush towards it, Rory to pull Amy to his chest, away from the hole, while the Doctor falls to his knees on the edge, watching the tiny light from the bulb atop the TARDIS vanish into the darkness. </p><p>The noise ceases, thin dust streams stop falling from the ceiling, and the cavern fills with the sounds of their panting as they try to regain their breath. </p><p>That, and some crunching as the Doctor's hands tighten their grip on the broken edge of the hole in the ground. </p><p>Slowly, Amy stops shaking in Rory's arms and pushes off of him, though it takes Rory a bit longer to calm down. </p><p>“Raggedy Man, what happened? Why did the cave collapse? Maybe we should get out of here before the ceiling caves in too, take a moment to figure out what to do…” she whispers hurriedly, and Rory can barely make out the way she keeps glancing at the ceiling as if worried it <i>will</i> fall on them before they can get out. </p><p>Oh, God. They're trapped in 1880s Rio de Janeiro, underground, without a TARDIS. How is this their life? </p><p>But the Doctor doesn't answer, staring down into the hole, the light from the fallen screwdriver behind them casting his face in shadow. He can't see what expression he's wearing, but that doesn't mean Amy and Rory can't hear his pained keen. </p><p>“Raggedy Man?” </p><p>“She's gone,” he whimpers, tightening his hold on the sharp edges of the hole before pulling away to grab tightly at his hair, rocking on his knees almost unconsciously. “She's gone, she's <i>gone, she's <b>gone—</b></i>the TARDIS is <i>gone,”</i> he repeats with growing panic, his breath quickening as he curls into himself, pulling on his hair, before straightening with a snap, looking around almost frantically. “I-I need to get her back, there has to be a way, she's all I have left, I <i>have to get her back!”</i> he shouts, scrambling around the hole on all fours as he prods at the edges, looking for all intents and purposes as if he's about to forego finding a secure handhold and just jump down instead. </p><p>Dust falls from the ceiling with a rumble, the ground shivering under them, and Amy and Rory cling to each other as they look up. </p><p>Some seconds later, the noise ceases and the dust stops falling. </p><p>“There's something up there,” Amy whispers, slowly pushing away from Rory. “Something big.” </p><p>“I vote we go the other way,” Rory suggests with a gulp, watching some pebbles fall from a wall with the next rumble, softer than the previous one. </p><p>“No, no, that's it! That's it, we need to find them!” the Doctor hisses, eyes almost luminous as he scrambles to his feet, an empty grin twisting his face. “That's machinery, they must have the means to get down there, to retrieve the TARDIS! They can get her back!” he laughs, relief and a hint of madness in his voice as he bows his head and runs his hands through his hair. “I haven't lost her, I can get her back, I can – I can fix this. I can fix this,” he repeats, softer this time, as he draws a couple of calming breaths, and, when he next looks up, he's rooted in the moment, no madness left in his inhumanly large hopeful grin. “What are you waiting for? Get up! We need to find those people before they leave! Come along, Ponds!” he tells them as he jumps over the hole to their side and takes off towards the tunnel, not even slowing to pick up the screwdriver. </p><p>“What the—” </p><p>“Hey, wait for us!” </p><p>He doesn't, but at least he goes slow enough that they can still use the light of the screwdriver to see where they're going. Still, they only manage to catch up when a brighter light source shines on their faces and the Doctor stops short, with Amy and Rory crashing into his back and sending all three of them to the dusty ground as a result. </p><p>“<i>Oomph!” </i></p><p>“Ugh, I can't see!” </p><p>“Who the—” </p><p>“Where did these people come from?” </p><p>“Someone get the Boss!” </p><p>“Are you alright, Miss?” an unknown voice asks, clearer over the ruckus all around them thanks to the owner's proximity, and, the next second, Amy is lifted off of Rory's back to let him draw breath. “Where did you three come from?” </p><p>“Rope! I need rope, as much of it as you have, the longer and sturdier the better!” the Doctor exclaims as he jumps to his feet almost <i>before</i> Rory manages to roll off of him, bouncing with manic energy and getting in the face of one very flustered and startled… miner? “You, fetch me as much rope as you can!” </p><p>“And why would we listen to the demands of a group of delinquents? This is my site you have carelessly entered, and my men whom you are so carelessly ordering around, and I will not have it,” a new voice harrumphs, proud and barely keeping anger at bay, as a portly gentleman steps past the group of confused and flabbergasted miners surrounding them. </p><p>To Rory's surprise, the man is wearing a very British Victorian suit, rather than the kind of lighter and not as 'posh' clothing he would've expected from a Brazilian in the late 1800s. Also, now that he can take a look around, all of the miners look most decidedly <i>not</i> Brazilian. Or, er, well… Brazilian workers in the 1800s weren't supposed to be mostly white men, were they? </p><p>“Well? What explanation do you have for entering my tunnels? Are you thieves, going after my equipment? Saboteurs?” </p><p>“What? No! No, we were… looking for mushrooms!” Amy answers, startled, as she hurriedly grabs one of the Doctor's arms to keep him from doing anything worse than scowling at the gentleman. </p><p>“Under Tower Hill?” the young man next to Rory exclaims, as startled as his fellow miners, and both time travelers frown in confusion. “Who looks for mushrooms in <i>the London Underground?” </i></p><p>“Wait a second. We're in London?” Rory asks, and, against his wishes, he can feel his face fall. </p><p>“All of time and space, he said,” Amy huffs, though, before the <i>underground worker</i> can say anything to that, the Doctor wrenches his arm out of her hold, attracting everyone's attention. </p><p>“London, Cardiff, Traken – who cares?! We've more important things to worry about. I need that rope <i>now.</i> My box fell down a sinkhole and I. Need. It. <i>Back.</i> Or the whole of existence will pay for it,” he hisses, glaring at the gentleman who, despite being the same height as the Doctor, cowers for a moment before he remembers himself and straightens pompously. </p><p>Rory has a moment of breathlessness as he sucks in his laughter at the image, unable to <i>not</i> compare it to a cat puffing up to scare an unimpressed dog. Of course, the gentleman has no idea that the Doctor is much <i>worse</i> than that, what with Prisoner Zero, and the Atraxi running away, and what Amy mentioned about the scars and— </p><p>Amy. </p><p>“The ring,” Rory whispers, dismayed, before groaning and burying his face in his hands. “The ring was in there!” </p><p>“And our only way home,” Amy adds in a tone that's mostly amused, and Rory groans <i>louder.</i> “You really do need to check your priorities, stupid.” </p><p>“My priorities? Do you know how much it cost me to actually – you were there!” he tells her in what is <i>not</i> a whine, trying and failing to keep at bay the memories of that disastrous and wonderful evening when he'd tried to ask Amy to marry him. </p><p>It had obviously worked, but it had most definitely <i>not</i> gone the way he'd planned. <i>At all. </i></p><p>“And going home won't be hard?” Amy asks in return, amusement in her smile and eyes, but also a fondness that grounds Rory far more than anything else in the universe. </p><p>“I don't need to go back to be home,” he answers softly, sincerely – and, apparently, embarrassingly loudly, if the way the Doctor covers his face with a groan is any clue. </p><p>Amy doesn't even <i>think</i> about it, glaring the Doctor into silence as soon as he looks up and opens his mouth, even if her face is bright red as she does so. </p><p>“I wasn't going to say anything,” the bastard of an alien smirks, lifting his hands <i>innocently,</i> and Amy sniffs as she tilts her chin up to look down at him. </p><p>“Sure you weren't.” </p><p>“Enough!” the gentleman finally explodes, looking quite red in the face as he puffs up even more. “I have had enough of these lunatics and their lady of the night! Get them out of my si—<i>eep!” </i></p><p>Rory jumps, as startled as everyone else, and watches, eyes wide open, as a terrifyingly serious Doctor shifts his hold on his lifted screwdriver – and all the torches go out. </p><p>“Be. Still.” </p><p>Rory freezes, gripping back the hand grabbing tightly on his arm, as soon as he hears the Doctor's calm whisper, and tenses as much as his unseen companion when the screwdriver—and <i>only</i> the screwdriver—lights up just enough to make out the Doctor's features in the darkness. </p><p>His eyes are green and luminescent when he lets them roam over what Rory assumes is the terrified group of workers, with the same frightening calm as a big cat that could pounce at any instant. </p><p>“Now that I have your attention, gentlemen, allow me to clarify on a couple of points. The first is that neither are me and my companion lunatics, nor is this young woman a 'lady of the night'. The first to suggest thus will be gladly given over to her for her to put you in your place. It will be good for you, and most amusing for me. The second point is to get me that rope I asked for. I have a box to recover, and I <i>will</i> get it back. If you do not wish to cooperate, then, by all means, point me to your stocks and <i>get out of my way.</i> And the last point… Close your eyes, Ponds.” </p><p>Rory obeys even before he can realize he's been called a Pond—<i>again—</i>but when the world behind his eyelids lights up with a lot of shocked gasps and muffled curses, he's glad for it nonetheless. </p><p>The hand around his arm tightens for a bit as he blinks his eyes open, and when he looks at the owner, he's surprised by the sight of the young worker who helped Amy up, mostly because he's carefully opening his eyes too, unlike the rest of his coworkers. </p><p>“So, where's my rope?” the Doctor asks amicably enough, pocketing his screwdriver, but his smirk and pale golden eyes are more predatory than anything else. </p><p>“What in God's name was that?!” the gentleman squeaks, rubbing his teary eyes almost furiously as he staggers away from the Doctor, pale as death. </p><p>“Magic,” the alien answers simply, and Rory sighs even as the worker next to him, finally letting his arm go, lets out a soft <i>whoa</i> under his breath. </p><p>“You know, Gandalf, maybe you should have warned them too if you really expected them to get you your rope as soon as you turned all the lights on again,” Amy chastises with a grin, but doesn't look that bothered by all the tripping and shivering workmen trying to clear their eyes and get them used to the sudden light once more. </p><p>“I could help with that, ma'am,” Rory's new friend calls out almost timidly, though his grin grows more confident when the time travelers turn to him expectantly. “Though, if your box did fall down one of the sinkholes, I can do you one better. The ground has been unstable since the cave in, but we uncovered a fairly secure tunnel going down to a net of caves,” he explains, pointing to a shadowed tunnel by the one they came out of, and a couple of backpacks by its entrance. “We were to follow it in search of Mister Flint's daughter—” </p><p>“Not another word, Tolbert!” the gentleman interrupts, finally able to see clearly and once more beet red in his rage. “I will not have these lunatics roam freely in my tunnels!” </p><p>“They're probably the ones behind the murders, too. Mushrooms! And that weird 'magic'…” another worker hisses menacingly, older than Tolbert and far more hateful, as he skulks to Mister Flint's side. </p><p>“Murders?” both Amy and Rory repeat in unison, startled, while the Doctor snorts. </p><p>“Oh, of course. Because that makes <i>complete</i> sense.” </p><p>“… It actually does,” Rory feels obligated to point out, no matter how much he hates to say it. </p><p>After all, if someone strange had popped out of the most unusual place with as ridiculous an excuse as they have, when someone or something has gone around killing people, he would probably suspect them too. </p><p>“You're not supposed to tell them that,” Amy hisses at him, but Rory can only shrug and lean away from her. </p><p>“None of them looks gray, sir,” Tolbert points out before softening his voice. “And my name is not Tolbert…” </p><p>… Well, oops. </p><p>“See? Not us. It's a tunnel. People die in tunnels all the time, and not necessarily from radiation or giant poisonous spiders. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a box to find,” the Doctor answers pleasantly enough, ignoring the wide-eyed looks and a terrified squeak from an unknown source at the mention of the spiders. </p><p>However, when he makes to step towards the tunnel, Mister Flint steps in the way. </p><p>“I said I will <i>not</i> have your ilk in my tunnels!” </p><p>“But Sir, with Mister Gandalf's magic the search for Miss—” </p><p>“I said no, Tollens! That unnatural so-called magic of his could very well have been the poison that killed my men,” Mister Flint hisses angrily, glaring at the Doctor while the rest of workers, barring not-Tolbert and the older man by Mister Flint's side, shuffle uneasily. </p><p>“Wait, poison? That couldn't have been us, it <i>really</i> wasn't,” Amy interrupts, exchanging a worried look with Rory, who walks to her side so they can both turn to the Doctor, now frowning softly in confusion and what might be curiosity. “How serious were you about the giant spiders?” </p><p>“Really, Amelia. I am <i>always</i> serious. But there is no way they could be here, not in this time and place. And there is nothing in London with a strong enough poison to kill an adult human,” he answers with a scoff, though his eyes go vacant for a moment as he ponders the situation. “Sounds more like the competition is trying to scare you all away so they can take over this stretch of the underground. I seem to recall there were some disagreements between the two companies assigned to the expansion. And I would definitely not put it below humans to kill for a contract. I have seen worse for less,” he adds with a dark scowl directed at whatever memory he's obviously thinking of, before shaking himself back to the present. “One way or another, not our problem.” </p><p>“But, Mister Gandalf, sir… The victims were <i>bitten.</i> There was this gray creature, skulking around… I almost didn't see it at first, but when Jonas screamed…” the young worker explains in a quiet voice, looking away as he shivers. “I ran away before it could get me too, but it was too busy biting down on Jonas' throat to pursue me.” </p><p>“Mister Thorne, that will be enough. Mister Foley was stabbed with a poisoned dagger. And <i>these</i> marauders could have very well committed such an act,” Mister Flint sniffs, straightening once more and glaring the poor worker down, who glares at the ground with a ferocity Rory hadn't expected. </p><p>“It's <i>Floyd.</i> Jonas <i>Floyd.</i> And I <i>know</i> what I saw. That I was cowardly enough to let him die is more than punishment enough, I need <i>not</i> be made the fool to feel worse,” he mumbles mutinously under his breath before deflating, defeated. “I <i>knew</i> I should have gone for the bank instead. Pushing papers around all day would be beyond preferable to <i>this.” </i></p><p>“Whatever. Come along, Ponds. TARDIS to find, parties to attend,” the Doctor huffs with an eyeroll, pushing the round Mister Flint into his glaring worker as if the man weighted nothing so he can walk towards the tunnel. “I'm taking the rope anyway, one never knows when you can need it,” he adds as he picks up a thick roll that he throws to Rory as if it was nothing— </p><p>And, if not for the friendly worker just a step behind him, Rory would have fallen to the ground with a breathless <i>oomph</i> when the <i>heavy</i> roll slams into his chest. </p><p>“Raggedy Man!” Amy chastises even as she tries to keep a smirk at bay, but the Doctor doesn't even have the courtesy of looking at them as he shrugs dismissively, lifting his screwdriver again and entering the tunnel. </p><p>“Here, I'll help,” the worker chuckles, taking the rope out of Rory's hands and slugging it over a shoulder, slowing down for a moment as he adjusts its weight before he and Rory catch up to Amy and the Doctor, who are waiting for them a bit further ahead. </p><p>“You don't really need to come with us, you know,” Amy tells him as she looks over their shoulder at the group of workers staring at them and talking nervously with one another. “Won't your boss be angry with you?” </p><p>“Oh, certainly. But I need to see this through, for Jonas if nothing else. I know what the others think of the creature, and how five deaths are not many for a project of this magnitude, but… Jonas had family, a widowed father and a sickly younger brother. I know his death hurt them, but it will be all the worse if the culprit is not brought to justice. And what of the underground? I cannot in good conscience let it open to the public when a poisonous beast might be roaming around freely in here,” he explains with determination, sending a disgruntled look over his shoulder – which immediately turns to surprise as he sees the two figures approaching them, with one of them carrying a torch and one of the backpacks. “Boyce? Mister Flint?” </p><p>“As I said, I will not have these people wandering around in my tunnels, not while my daughter has yet to be found. Do not mistake this for forgiveness, Mister Gandalf, I <i>will</i> hand you and your fellows to the authorities as soon as we are out of here. But my daughter comes first,” Mister Flint hisses at the Doctor, who answers with a deadpan look. </p><p>“Right. Are we done wasting time?” </p><p>“Maybe we should get another torch,” Rory comments, eyeing the one in Boyce's hand and thinking back to the Doctor running away with his screwdriver in hand before they met the workers. </p><p>“And another of the kits would be useful,” the helpful worker hums softly, to which Rory nods before frowning and turning to him. </p><p>“What's in those kits, Mister…?” </p><p>“Please, don't 'mister' me, just call me Arthur. And it's some tools, blankets, medical supplies…” </p><p>Rory's eyes light up and the Doctor groans. </p>
<hr/><p>The darkness is slightly lighter when she manages to open her eyes, but most of her attention is on the fire on her neck, caused by whatever is stabbing into the clavicle and by the angle lying on her side has it in. </p><p>With a groan, she carefully rolls over, trying not to put too much weight on her hands, bound at her back – and stiffens in surprise at the hiss echoing all around. </p><p>The tunnels, cursing her father under her breath as she stomps aimlessly, carefully adjusting the lamp in her grip as she almost trips on a previously unseen hole in the ground, the large and empty black eyes of the creature at the other end of the tunnel— </p><p>She turns her head towards the sound and there it is again, the monster with the gray face and the large and empty black eyes. Only, now that she has the chance to take a better look, she finally realizes that it isn't gray nor does it have metallic bits, but that it's wearing <i>clothes</i> instead. Strange ones, true, and there <i>is</i> metal on them, almost as if it was armor, but from the sideways angle she's seeing it from and the creature's crouch, she can barely make out the scaled pattern of it under the light of the moss growing in the chamber. </p><p>That and the scorch marks on its arm from when she had thrown the lantern at it as she tried to escape. </p><p>She can't help the smile on her face when she recognizes those, though it quickly turns into a grimace. Whatever those clothes are, they aren't even singed. </p><p>The monster tilts its head with another hiss, almost curious, and she tries to sit up, hard as it is with her hands tied at her back and the dizziness that threatens to take over when she moves. Her neck feels <i>really</i> hot too, and she struggles to remember what happened. </p><p>She had woken up like this the first time, hands tied and a shoe missing, but the beast hadn't been around then. She'd tried to run, to return to the surface and warn her father about the creature, but— </p><p>“What did you do to me? Who <i>are</i> you?” she asks once she finally manages to lean against the wall, the new angle making it clear that this is no beast, despite the hissing and the awkward crouching. “What do you want? If you think that stupid costume is going to scare me, you have something else coming,” she adds, lifting her chin and trying to ignore how the gesture tugs on the stab wound on her clavicle. </p><p>She doesn't know what this would-be monster stabbed her with, but it <i>burns. </i></p><p>“Costume?” her captor repeats with an accent she cannot place, as sibilant as the hissing that follows, before they tilt their head once more in a manner that reminds her of birds instead of humans. “Is this the best your inferior brain can come up with, <i>ape?</i> Then, let me correct it. I will not have you die believing this to be a charade,” they add, straightening threateningly while one hand reaches for the mask covering their face— </p><p>And she finds herself face to face with green scales and horns and a human-like and yet completely inhuman face, almost feminine by the shape of it. Though she's not sure such a word can apply to this creature despite the curves of the body that seem to support such a theory, noticeable now that it's holding itself taller and so more visible in the moss' soft light. </p><p>“Your eyes… They are so beautiful, and yet so sad,” she whispers before she can think it through, and the creature stiffens with yet another hiss, those <i>gorgeous</i> and <i>devastated</i> eyes the color and coldness of ice widening with her words. “You're sad, yes, you are. But why? Why would you be sad?” she asks, spurned by the creature's reaction, but this time, she's only answered by silence. </p><p>Which… Alright, it's fair. It isn't like her kidnapper owes her an explanation— </p><p>“You kidnapped me. You didn't kill me, you kidnapped me. But… it can't be for ransom, can it? I mean, you're not human…” </p><p>“Ransom,” the creature repeats, snorting, and her face <i>barely</i> scrunches into a scowl that somehow feels more intense than such an expression would merit. “The only thing I want from you apes is your blood on my hands, filling these tunnels until there are none of you left,” it—<i>she</i> hisses, baring her teeth as she leans forward threateningly, and, this time, the glint in those blue eyes <i>is</i> recognizable. </p><p>“Alone,” she whispers, and the creature straightens once more, stiff and hissing softly, and she can only answer with a sad smile, keeping her eyes on those beautiful blue ones despite the strange and sudden urge to look away, as if she was ashamed of her own situation for the first time in her life. “I understand. You're hurt and you want to hurt someone else for it. Oh, God, I miss my father,” she says before she can stop herself, finally dropping her head and wincing as her neck <i>burns.</i> “It hurts… What did you do to me?” </p><p>The creature's nostrils flare as she hisses once more, still stiff and unmoving, before it stands up quickly in a fluid motion that seems too smooth to have been real. </p><p>“What you deserved. All apes will pay,” she snarls, eyes alight with rage, before putting the mask back on and leaving the chamber without another word. </p>
<hr/><p>“Are you <i>sure</i> you have everything?” one of the workers asks them for the umpteenth time, and Koschei doesn't even bother glaring this time. </p><p>They were supposed to just check the kit and go, though they didn't even need <i>that.</i> However, at the mention of medical supplies, Rory had insisted on checking more thoroughly and, after a quick glance at Koschei's hand that she doesn't know he caught, Amy agreed. </p><p>It is <i>completely</i> unnecessary. Koschei just wants to get back to the TARDIS and fly them all away. Forget about this so-called 'monster'. Regardless of Arthur's suspicions, Koschei is still convinced it's nothing more than company sabotage, according to what little he remembers about this period of human history. </p><p>“I still say we should take the guns,” Flint huffs, straightening proudly but curling slightly into himself as Koschei glares. </p><p>“And <i>I</i> say that if you want to take a gun, you're staying <i>up here,”</i> Koschei hisses back, snarling at the insufferable human as he scans the tunnel one last time to make sure it <i>is</i> as stable as it seems. </p><p>The TARDIS is his only priority, sure, but keeping Amy and Rory alive until they can get to it goes without saying. Amy <i>will</i> kill him if they miss her wedding just because he couldn't find the TARDIS or he got her fiancé killed on the way. </p><p>Not that Koschei will let that happen. No TARDIS means no Doctor, and there is <i>no way</i> he's going to allow that. The bastard is coming back whether he wants to or not. </p><p>
  <i>Even if that means I have to deal with a couple of irritating primitives with a penchant for guns. </i>
</p><p>“Oh, come on! They're not all that bad, just look at Arthur. And imagine if we actually found the creature! Oh, and what if there are other species living down here? There could be a whole ecosystem. This will be <i>brilliant!”</i> Theta chirps happily from the end of the tunnel, trying to see around the bend while Koschei calmly catches up, leaving Flint behind to give his workers some last instructions before they set out. </p><p>“Always the scientist, aren't you?” he huffs under his breath, rolling his eyes mockingly, but the ghost keeps beaming, completely unaffected. </p><p>“Well, in-between some bouts of action, it's nice to have this kind of adventures. Cheer up! It's a new discovery! Not everything has to be about burning planets to the ground,” Theta protests, still grinning as they walk around the bend, ignoring Amy's <i>hey!</i> and the loud steps as the humans catch up. </p><p>“I <i>like</i> burning things. Lots of pretty sparkles and figures in the smoke,” he grumbles under his breath, scanning a small patch of yellow-green moss with a different kind of structure than the luminous one – which puffs into a small flame before it quickly extinguishes. “Huh, magnesium cover. That's new.” </p><p>“Should we worry about <i>that</i> reaction just after <i>that</i> comment?” Rory asks Amy at his back, and a part of Koschei grimaces when he realizes they'd been there long enough to hear him talk to Theta, while the bigger one has him turning around to give them a sharp grin. “Yep, definitely should,” Rory answers himself when their eyes meet, though Amy huffs with a smile and steps past her fiancé to look over the smoking and twisted remains of the moss. </p><p>“Were you talking to yourself? Aloud? You do know that's the first sign of insanity, don't you?” she asks with a teasing grin, and Koschei huffs and straightens proudly, returning the grin. </p><p>“Yes, I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old – they choose the wisest person present to speak to,” he explains pompously, and while Rory frowns softly, as if trying to figure out the meaning of his words, Amy laughs, shakes her head to end the conversation, and turns to the slightly smoking spot of charred moss. </p><p>“I didn't know the screwdriver could do that.” </p><p>“Me neither. Now we do.” </p><p>And, as one, they laugh. </p><p>Flint catches up a moment later, harrumphing in annoyance but restraining himself before he delivers a scathing comment, and so Koschei sobers, directs one last fleeting look at Theta before he pops out of existence, and leads the way down the tunnel. </p><p>There's quite a lot of moss growing on the walls, both the regular luminous one and the incendiary, alongside other types and some lichens, but Koschei doesn't bother with more than some general readings when they come across a new species. The Doctor will love to pour over all this information once he's back, so Koschei is going to save at least the general facts to the TARDIS' database, but to do that, they need to <i>find</i> the TARDIS first. </p><p>Besides, with two Time Lords, it'll be easier to steer the TARDIS back to this time period for more in-depth readings. Never mind the fact Koschei still doesn't know how he'll <i>do</i> that, but that's yet another reason to find the TARDIS. She has all the data about the cracks, and how they could use them to get the Doctor back. </p><p>“What do you think this creature is?” Amy asks once the large centipede Koschei was scanning scurries away, the group walking slowly behind them. “Could it really be just a saboteur from that other company you mentioned? Because, what you said about the spiders…” </p><p>“Yes, I truly believe this is nothing more than lovely human interaction. And will you stop worrying about the spiders? This is Earth, not Metebelis III. These spiders haven't evolved into giants yet.” </p><p>“<i>Yet?!” </i></p><p>“Urgh. Look, I don't really know, it could be anything. But, between you and me? It's probably nothing,” he tells her with a tired grimace, but Amy still gives him a slightly worried look. </p><p>… Taking into account they've dealt with almost everything from alien refugees to Daleks and Neverwere, Koschei can't fault her for that, but it's still insulting. Whatever the creature is, it's an <i>earthling.</i> He can deal with that! </p><p>“I think I'll prepare some riddles anyway, just in case,” Rory deadpans, and Koschei can't help but turn to him with a frown, utterly lost by that nonsensical sequitur. “You know, what do I have in my pocket?” </p><p>“… Your phone, the weird kit you never leave behind and a handkerchief,” Koschei answers after a moment, still puzzling over what in Skaro is going through Rory's brain now. “Did you breathe in some spores while I wasn't looking? You know you shouldn't touch stuff without my saying so, right?” </p><p>And, bafflingly enough, Amy breaks down into loud cackles while Rory stares at him dumbfounded before joining his fiancée. </p><p>Koschei stops and stares at them, trying to push down the note of worry growing in the pit of his stomach, before turning to Arthur, Flint and Boyce to see if whatever is affecting his companions has got to them too, but they are as lost as Koschei. </p><p>“Do you have any urges to start talking nonsense or laugh uncontrollably?” he asks the other three anyway, and when they shake their heads, Koschei pulls out his screwdriver and starts scanning Amy and Rory. “Alright, I want the truth, <i>now.</i> Which of the plants have you been poking and what did you do after? Rub your eyes? Scratch your nose? You didn't <i>lick</i> anything, did you?” he asks, checking the screwdriver and running more scans when, scarily enough, all checks come clear. </p><p>“No, we—Stop that!” Amy protests, calming down her laughter and pushing the screwdriver away before reaching to rub her eyes clear. “Have you never heard of Gollum? You know, the creature that lives in the tunnels deep into the earth, using a magic ring that grants invisibility to evade the goblins, and eating fish from an underground lake?” she adds when she sees Koschei's blank face. “Oh, come on! The game of riddles? The One Ring? Thorin Oakenshield and his band of twelve dwarves, journeying to the Lonely Mountain to retake their kingdom from the dragon Smaug with the aid of a wizard and a hobbit burglar?” </p><p>Amy and Rory are looking at him expectantly, but Koschei merely blinks, trying to process all of that nonsense while pushing his worry back. </p><p>They haven't touched anything dangerous, or been stung by an underground bug, or breathed in any fumes. They're <i>fine.</i> Koschei's humans are fine, just… being <i>humans.</i> Which means a lot of nonsensical babbling, apparently. </p><p>… Also, <i>not</i> 'Koschei's humans', what in Skaro is he thinking? Maybe <i>he</i> is the one that has breathed in fumes without noticing. </p><p>“What's a 'hobbit'?” Arthur asks almost timidly, looking from Amy to Rory and finally to Koschei. </p><p>“They are a race of little people, about half your height, capable of disappearing quietly and quickly when some idiot blunders around too close to them. Good hearing, too, which means you won't be able to get closer than a mile before they vanish. They tend to be wider in the stomach and dress in bright colors, though they don't wear shoes – their feet grow natural leathery soles. They have curly hair, from their heads to their toes, but no beards. Long clever fingers too, and you better beg if they manage to get a stone, their aim is excellent with those. But they're generally good-natured, love to eat, gossip and enjoy the comforts of their hobbit-holes, the tube-shaped tunnels where they live,” he explains absentmindedly, glaring at their surroundings and the moss, paying special attention to the incendiary one, in case that one released something when it burned. “Still, nothing to worry about, they live in Hobbiton, way past Anduin… And how have you heard about those? I never told you about hobbits,” Koschei finally asks, registering his own words, as he turns a confused frown to the gawking Ponds. </p><p>“Oh my God, hobbits are real? I thought it was just a story!” Amy squeaks, caught between stunned and elated, while Rory lets his head drop into his hands with a long-suffering sigh, and, embarrassingly enough, <i>that</i> is when it clicks. </p><p>A story. A <i>human</i> story. Regardless of how a human has come to learn about hobbits, who are about the less travel-inclined race in the universe, it's still nothing more than a <i>human story. </i></p><p>“I don't have time for your ridiculous tales,” Koschei scoffs dismissingly, resuming their walk once more before they can notice the subtle blush on his cheeks. “You should know that by now, Amelia. And you, Rory! I expected better of you!” </p><p>“But it's a classic!” Rory protests, catching up alongside Amy, but Koschei ignores them, still steaming at the realization that he'd <i>worried</i> about these two idiots that think pranking him with quotes from nonsensical childish stories, when there's the very real danger of something down here being noxious for humans, is a good idea. “I get that you don't want to know about the time travel tales, or, I don't know, <i>The War of the Worlds—” </i></p><p>“Oi! Careful what you say about Herbert!” he warns sharply as he whirls to point threateningly at Rory, who immediately lifts his hands as if that could protect him from Koschei's glare. </p><p>“You've met H. G. Wells?” Amy asks with wide eyes, and Koschei straightens with a grin. “Don't tell me you were the one to give him the ideas for his books!” </p><p>“Wouldn't surprise me,” Rory sighs, relaxing now that Koschei isn't glaring at him anymore. </p><p>“That's for me to know and for you to wonder,” he answers cockily, turning back to the passage around them, listening cheerfully to Amy's huffing and puffing and Rory's sighing. </p><p>Herbert had never said as much himself, which already put him above most of humanity, but the Master could smell the hint of artron energy when he'd gone to get his signed copy of <i>The War of the Worlds.<i> Such a thing never really vanishes from someone who has time traveled, and, seeing how this was a human, the Master had been fairly sure Herbert had encountered the Doctor and been roped into one of his adventures. After, once he'd convinced the man to sit and have some tea as they talked about some details in his books, he'd confirmed as much—the 'Martians' had been fairly reminiscent of the Daleks, and the 'time machine'? If that wasn't a TARDIS, the Master was going to eat his gloves. </i></i></p><p>
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</p><p>No, Herbert had never even breathed the word 'Doctor', but the way he'd talked about an 'expert' he'd had some 'enlightening scientific discussions' with, and some spirited women and other companions he'd traveled with, had been all the Master had needed to make sure. </p><p>Besides, leaving Amy and Rory to wonder about his connection to Herbert is little payback for worrying him with their tales about hobbits and whatever. </p><p>Still, when the Ponds turn to Arthur to tell him about their stories after the man asks about them, Koschei focuses back on the present. He doesn't like the way Flint and Boyce keep exchanging looks and whispers when they think he's not paying attention, but their position at the back of the group mostly keeps them out of Koschei's hearing range, especially now that the other three are chatting excitedly. </p><p>“Oh, now I know you are joking! There's no way that actually happened!” Arthur exclaims a bit louder after Amy's latest retelling, and Koschei can't help but turn around with a grin. </p><p>“You are right. All good stories deserve embellishment,” he explains, turning to the front before the triumphant grin on Arthur's face can turn to confusion, though he practically hears it in his next words. </p><p>“Wait, embellishment? Then… Something about that <i>was</i> real?” </p><p>“Sorry, Arthur, but yes. He doesn't lie.” </p><p>“But <i>what</i> is real in there? I mean, it all sounds so… <i>otherworldly,”</i> Arthur asks, befuddled, and Amy and Rory barely keep their snickers quiet. “And how would you know about—Oh. Oh, <i>no way.</i> You mean the Gandalf from your story is him? <i>Actually</i> him?” he asks, chancing a furtive look at Koschei's back that he senses nonetheless. </p><p>Gandalf… Come to think of it, that's what Amy called him, and what Arthur has been calling him since. Though, judging by the uncomfortable look on Rory's face and the amused one on Amy's, they probably didn't mean for it to <i>catch. </i></p><p>“But no, it cannot be. How could <i>anyone</i> do all that?” </p><p>“Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, Arthur, for they are subtle and quick to anger,” he calls over his shoulder, making sure to send them a sharp grin too when their eyes meet, and delights in not only Arthur's wide eyes and scared gulp, but in Amy's doubletake and Rory's suspicion. </p><p>He's not sure what he's done, but those two have obviously read something in his words. Whether it's because they relate to that story of theirs or they suspect some sort of revenge on his part, that's a mystery for later. </p><p>Maybe he'll ask them what story they're talking about and read it when they sleep. It's been a while since he could just sit back with a book and enjoy himself, and the TARDIS will still need some time to run analysis and simulations, anyways. </p><p>It's not like he has anything else to do while they— </p><p>“Wait,” he orders as soon as they round the next corner, stopping and lifting a hand to keep the humans still, eyes roving over the wall blocking their path. </p><p>Solid, part of the walls rather than fallen boulders, which would be why Flint huffs in displeasure while Amy grumbles about the 'dead end' in disappointment. </p><p>But after a second of disbelief, realization dawns and Koschei's face falls. He lets his head drop onto his chest and massages the bridge of his nose with a groan, thinking about the mess they are in <i>now. </i></p><p>“Great, just <i>great,”</i> he mutters under his breath, and ignores it when Amy pats his shoulders with a reassurance about how they can just try to rappel down for the TARDIS once they get back to the main tunnel. “But it's not that simple. We're in deep trouble now,” he tells her, straightening and meeting Arthur's eyes. “Your monster is real.” </p><p>“Nonsense!” Flint harrumphs, straightening again, and Koschei seethes silently at him without successfully silencing him this time. “It is a rival or one of the many miscreants that oppose the underground's development. There is no such thing as 'monsters' or 'demons' or—” </p><p>“Oh, be silent! And keep that forked tongue behind your teeth. I did not survive fire and death to listen to the crooked words of a witless worm,” he scoffs, and whether it is because of his snappish tone or the warning in his eyes, Flint actually obeys, tensing warily. “Something has crept or has been driven out of the ground. The second, taking into account all the activity happening overhead. There are older and fouler things than whatever your tiny brain can conjure, waiting in the depths of this world,” he explains calmer but not less solemn, meeting the Ponds' wide eyes and Arthur's worried gaze, before turning to the antagonistic Flint and his pet Boyce. “If we are to be successful, if we are to get out of this <i>alive,</i> this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm… Which is why you will leave the talking <i>to me.” </i></p><p>“Talking? With whom?” Boyce scoffs, snarling back at Koschei, while Amy and Rory exchange disbelieving looks that Koschei is too busy rolling his eyes to properly analyze. </p><p>“You really don't see it, do you? Not even this one door, actually <i>meant</i> to be found?” he asks the humans, but their blank looks and frowns are more than answer enough. “Pay attention,” he tells them with a sharp grin, stepping up to the 'wall' at the end of the tunnel, devoid of plant life, and running his hands over its surface while he murmurs softly under his breath. “Come on, where are you… Oh, definitely a different model, maybe even a different subspecies… But still, can't be <i>that</i> different – ah, here!” </p><p>And he presses the pad camouflaged with the rest of the wall, but easily found if one knows which kind of grooves to search. </p><p>The 'wall' lights up with slender silver threads that soon grow to form images and patterns, and, though blurred and broken in many spots due to age and decay, Koschei can still make them out with ease. At the top there's an arch of interlacing letters in a different dialect than he's familiar with, but which he easily manages to make sense of despite the TARDIS' inability to translate it, either due to distance or the damage done to the text. Below it, despite the unsteady outline, he manages to recognize the pattern as a ceratopsid skull, with the frill and short horns in it fairly intact, alongside the central horn and a couple of smaller ones on the cheeks, but with the eyes mostly lost, which give the impression of a crown with stars in it hovering over an ornate altar of some kind. Still further down there are two trees bearing crescent-shaped fruits, and a single star sits between those, symbolizing the sun, with its many rays reaching outwards. </p><p>“Is that an anvil?” </p><p>“Trees! Those are trees!” </p><p>“What manner of witchcraft is this?!” </p><p>“It's a gate,” Amy whispers, holding onto Rory's arm while her fiancé gawks at the markings. “It is, isn't it? It's a gate,” she asks, meeting Koschei's grin, and the Time Lord nods condescendingly as he listens to the practically inaudible whirring of sixty-five million years old machinery coming back to life, lifting his hands— </p><p>“The Doors of Moria, made by Narvi and carved by Kele'rimor, of the land of O'lin. Speak, friend, and enter,” he reads, timing his words so that the doors open as soon as he's done— </p><p>“Mellon,” the Ponds speak in unison, and, with a sound akin to a sigh, the wall splits down the middle and pulls back, revealing a passage almost too bright with luminous moss to be properly distinguished at first. </p><p>By humans, that is, because Koschei has no problem walking inside to perform a quick scan and make sure it's safe to go in. </p><p>Which is why he's the first to walk to the edge of the parapet and look down— </p><p>And he feels his stomach drop. </p><p>Where a large city or pocket of civilization should've been, there's nothing but a cavern full of collapsed rubble, though the wall into which their tunnel opens is still intact, revealing the way it has been carved with columns that remind them of trees, and dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures all over the walls, where the moss hasn't covered. </p><p>“It wasn't a net of caves,” he whispers as the humans finally catch up, and though lost in their awe, Rory and Arthur still turn to Koschei when they hear his voice. “The city of K'shad Dun, destroyed by human greed and their thirst for 'progress'. A whole colony, lost in the blink of an eye.” </p><p>“A colony? What manner of beasts would choose the depths of the earth to make their home? Nothing more than animals, surely! With the industry rising further and better every day, only barbarians would choose this… <i>hole</i> over the magnificence of the city of London,” Flint scoffs, straightening pompously and earning himself cold glares from the Ponds and a confused look from Arthur. </p><p>Koschei takes in a deep breath and literally forces himself to not curl his hands into fists, in case the impulse to just shove the idiot off the parapet becomes stronger then. </p><p>“It is wisdom to recognize necessity, when all other courses have been weighed, though it may appear to be folly to those who cling to false hope,” he says before Amy can do more than open her mouth, looking out into the dilapidated colony for one more breath before turning to Flint. “But you? You think yourself so wise, weighing all things according to the scales of your measure. But that measure is desire, desire for power, and so you judge all hearts according to what might give <i>you</i> power, without considering their circumstances or needs. And so, it didn't even cross your mind that they couldn't refuse it, that having all of the world above, they would seek to live underground to escape their <i>reckoning,”</i> he hisses, and his glare is enough to make Flint cower and Boyce stew in silence behind his employer, too subdued to even meet his gaze despite the scowl on his face. “They were Silurians. A sentient race, evolved from and alongside the dinosaurs, long before the first hominids. Reptile-folk, if you would, far more advanced than humanity has yet to become. They went into hibernation before the end of the Cretaceous, different colonies and subspecies isolating themselves, to wait for a time after the Earth recovered from the upcoming cataclysm and they could reclaim it again. There have been some attempts for them to rejoin the surface world, but you humans… You really don't like to share, do you?” he asks mockingly, sending a look to Flint and Boyce, who answer with dirty looks, while Arthur turns to Amy and Rory for reassurance. </p><p>“Have you dealt with these Silurians before?” Amy asks after sending their new friend a smile, waiting calmly as Koschei examines a couple openings that lead to different corridors going downstairs. </p><p>“Oh, yeah, back in the seventies. Or the eighties. I can never remember when, it was a while ago. The Sea Devils were some favorites of mine, but the humans blew them up. As usual. Really, you just can't stand not to be the 'superior' race. It would be pitiful if it wasn't so annoying. Seriously, <i>they</i> have been around even longer than humans, what makes you think you have more of a right to the planet than they do? If anything, you should be sharing with them, <i>learning</i> from them. Silurians didn't destroy the environment like humans do. You would really benefit from coexistence,” he tells them, making his choice of passage even as he reaches telepathically for the TARDIS, to try and probe ahead and see if he can get a response. </p><p>If only they had a telepathic bond… But then again, after the Year that Never Was, it's no surprise that she wants nothing to do with him. It's more than he expected to have her welcome him aboard and let him pilot her. Koschei certainly wouldn't be as forgiving as she has been. </p><p>He slows his next steps as that thought crosses his mind, curling the fingers of his right hand tightly enough to pull on his scars. </p><p>The TARDIS called for him, protected him, when the Daleks shot him and he was left injured and disorientated aboard their ship, at their non-existent mercy. She <i>called</i> for him, to get him back into the forcefield, and helped Amy operate the infirmary's machines to heal him after that, amongst other examples. </p><p>The TARDIS takes care of Koschei, even after he killed the Doctor. </p><p>And Koschei lost her. </p><p>“I'm coming for you,” he whispers, reaching out once more and sending the message out telepathically, hoping she'll receive it. “I won't leave you, not now and not ever. You and me, we're sticking together until the end of time. I won't lose you too. I'm coming. I'll fix this. I promise.” </p><p>He still gets no answer, but the next time he has to choose at a crossroads it's faster and far more determined. </p><p>Amy and Rory are telling Arthur an edited version of their adventures so far, when Flint grows tired and finally steps up to Koschei's side. </p><p>“Well, Mister Gandalf? Where are we going?” he asks almost accusingly when Koschei stops to scan another niche, but, as all others before, the computer hidden under the rocky exterior is offline due to time and the damage to the buried colony. </p><p>If only they could find <i>one</i> functional one… </p><p>“We're looking for my box. And if your daughter managed to fall into one of the sinkholes, we're looking for her body too. But mainly, we're looking for my TARDIS,” he answers easily, but when he feels the human's anxiety spike, regardless of the practiced scowl on his face, Koschei turns to face him rather than go down the current corridor. “Look, the door was closed. There is <i>no way</i> your daughter managed to get here, and now that I know there was a Silurian colony down here, the odds of her still being alive and lost in one of the upper tunnels are higher than ever. Silurians are clever, far more than most humans, and, judging by this discovery, I'm willing to admit I was wrong about a human being behind your workers' deaths. I don't know anything about poisonous Silurians, but this is a colony I don't know, and I wouldn't discard them being a completely different subspecies. So, tell me, was your daughter dressed like a worker or was she wearing a dress?” </p><p>“A dress, of course. A lady should be dressed in nothing else,” he sniffs disdainfully, but the hope in his eyes and the trembling of his fingers before he curls them around his lapels is more than obvious. </p><p>“Then there's a chance that the Silurian might leave her be. Just a chance, and, frankly, it's not very high. Humans are all the same for them, nothing but apes, and these ones have been rudely awakened by your workers collapsing the cave on top of them. They <i>will</i> look for blood, for revenge. But if your daughter was wearing something that was obviously <i>not</i> meant for construction work, she might be spared. Then again, I don't know this colony, this subspecies,” he answers, and, once more, Flint's fear and loss and the conflict about just how <i>much</i> he's hurting stabs at Koschei's feelers. </p><p>He should retract them, distance himself from the humans, but he can't do such if he's to feel the TARDIS. </p><p>So, he lets out a deep breath, runs a hand through his hair before rubbing his face, and meets Flint's eyes once more. </p><p>He may look like nothing but a downright idiot, but Koschei can't ignore the anxiety he feels practically radiating off of the man, not now that he knows it's not just a matter of a girl getting lost in some tunnels or a human killer being on the loose… Wait. </p><p>“Why was your daughter in the tunnels?” he finally asks, frowning at Flint, who stiffens and scowls with about the same intimidation factor as a drowned kitten. </p><p>“She disobeyed me, of course. That girl is far too stubborn to attend her lessons like a proper lady, insisting instead on 'learning the trade'. This is no position for a woman, and no daughter of mine will disobey me as such again. As soon as I find her, she'll be sent to the country house with her mother, I will have no more of her disobedience.” </p><p>Amy looks ready to slap him, scowling impressively, while Rory rests a hand on her shoulder but glares at Flint too. Boyce is in complete agreement, if his self-satisfied sniff and nod are any indication, but Arthur hesitates with a hint of a grimace. </p><p>Hm. There's something there that they're not telling him. </p><p>Judging by Arthur's expression and Flint's desperation, Koschei assumes the girl is stubborn enough not to change her ways, which, for a businessman like Flint, should be bad enough… But if Arthur believes sending her away from London is <i>that</i> bad… </p><p>Koschei draws from his own travels and experiences – and almost slaps himself when he realizes what the <i>secret</i> is. </p><p>For a moment, he almost wishes he was as blind as the Doctor when it comes to these matters. The next second, he finds himself opening his mouth before he can think it through. </p><p>“Does it seriously matter that much whether she prefers women to men? You have other heirs to bother, leave the poor girl alone,” he scoffs, and this time he <i>does</i> bury his face in his hands as soon as the words get out. “Ugh, why did I say that? I wasn't going to get involved!” he chastises himself, but the moment he hears Amy snicker after she recovers from her shock, he looks up and sends her a glare that falls flat. “This is all your fault.” </p><p>“How come? You're the one that decided to play detective.” </p><p>“You—” </p><p><i>You are the one who made me care, who made me </i>want <i>to give the two of you a wedding gift, who insisted on hanging around when I should be focusing on getting the Doctor back,</i> is what he wants to say among other things, but Flint's hands closing on his collar force him to rudely focus on the irate human instead. </p><p>“Who has told you about my son? About my daughter? Who have you had spying on my family?! What have you done to my Jenny!” </p><p>“Let. Go,” he hisses threateningly, glaring Flint into stillness but holding back on hypnotizing him just yet. </p><p>Humans don't feel pain as badly when they're hypnotized. </p><p>He cocks an eyebrow after a couple seconds, and Flint's hands drop off of him as if burned. </p><p>“No one told me anything. I deduced from your words and reactions, and you have given me an answer to it all just now,” he answers calmly, judging whether it's worth dirtying his hands with this pathetic specimen as he dusts his jacket, but the way Flint staggers back another step is pitiful enough to make him think he's most definitely not worth the trouble. </p><p>If he'd had his TCE or laser screwdriver, maybe he would've given in to the temptation, but killing without those is a lot more personal and, to be frank, too much trouble and time wasted on these inferior creatures. </p><p>“But—From two sentences… How…?” </p><p>“Oh, we've been chatting away, I forgot to tell you. I'm brilliant,” he answers with a grin, satisfied at putting the puny human back in his place, and, behind Flint, Koschei can see Amy smile widely while Rory looks at him with a half-grin— </p><p>
  <i>“I'm brilliant,” he says, with a smile that warms up his chest in a way the working machinery hasn't done, than the realization that this is it, they can send everyone to Utopia now… </i>
</p><p><i>He has done it, this last of the Time Lords, this hermit with friends, this doctor with no knowledge of science, he has </i>done it.<i> He has filled his chest with hope and his head with more questions than he's had since he first managed to make sense of words. This widely grinning fool has </i>done it!<i> And judging by the way his two companions grin at his back, this isn't the first time he has managed such a miracle, but Yana doesn't care, because this is the </i>only<i> miracle he could've ever asked for, this—this— </i></p><p>
  <i>Lacking the words to express himself, he pulls the Doctor into his arms and buries his face into the man's chest. It'll be just a moment, they have work to do, but for this instant, Yana just wants to hug the Doctor, who answers in kind a second later, once he's recovered from the surprise. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>For the first time in his life, Yana feels regret when the echo of the drums vanishes when he lets go of the Doctor. Just for once, they had been almost comforting. </i>
</p><p>Koschei flinches and immediately turns around to hide his pale face and pained expression from the humans, tripping on his own two feet before he grabs onto a wall, clutching his head tightly with his free hand, and closing his eyes so tightly that he sees spots. </p><p>“Shut up, <i>shut up, shut UP!”</i> he roars, both to the voices rising at his back and the heartsbeat drumming in his ears, threatening to swallow him whole for three point fourteen seconds, before he manages to push it down. </p><p><i>That</i> had been one way-too-clear memory. <i>That</i> shouldn't have happened. Koschei knows he's not at one hundred percent yet, but he shouldn't have drifted anymore… But that wasn't drifting, was it? It was just a memory, popping up when he'd quoted the Doctor without realizing he was doing so. Just a memory. </p><p>But <i>why</i> such an impact? Sure, Amy and Rory were grinning like Martha and Jack, but that's still not enough. And he's used to his heartsbeat once again, he doesn't get triggered as if it was the drums, not unless something <i>else</i> reminds him of them. </p><p>Besides, what would the end of the universe have in common with an abandoned Silurian colony? This place doesn't smell of paradox, it just smells like moss and stale air and time energy and dust and rust and fire and— </p><p>
  <i>Fire? Time Energy? </i>
</p><p>Koschei straightens, frowning as he looks around. The moss in here is the same species he has already checked over, and those things don't have hallucinogenic spores or anything of the like. He's pretty sure the colony didn't release any gases or chemicals that could be harmful either, but he scans the air nonetheless to make sure. </p><p>The scan comes in clear, so he looks at the humans, who are staring at him with worry, concern, fear and suspicion, respectively. </p><p>Koschei takes another sniff and scowls, keeping his screwdriver in hand as he looks down the tunnel. </p><p>“Raggedy Man?” </p><p>“Do you smell the fire?” </p><p>“… What fire?” Amy asks after exchanging a look with Rory, who has taken his weird kit out of his pocket in preparation for who knows what. </p><p>“It hasn't been lit yet,” Koschei answers softly, closing his eyes and tilting his head as he listens, shuddering once he catches the faintest of crackling. “But it will, soon. Let's move, I'd rather not be here when it all blows up,” he orders, moving further down the corridor, and, after a second of silence, the humans hurry to catch up. </p><p>The humans are talking at his back, mostly Arthur asking questions that Amy and Rory answer hesitatingly, but Koschei doesn't bother listening to them. He has a very good idea <i>what</i> they are about, anyway. </p><p>Focusing back on the present is easy, especially once he retracts his feelers the tiniest bit. He doesn't know what is going to happen, but he knows it'll be <i>big.</i> So, the sooner they get to the TARDIS, the sooner they can get out, and to do that, he needs to be in the here and now. </p><p>Whatever will happen, he'll deal with it when they get to it. </p><p>They encounter yet another crossroads before their path evens and the corridor opens into a cavernous room with barely any luminous moss in it, quite long before it is cut by yet more collapsed ceiling. Of course, as evidenced by the wary whispers of the humans behind him, their eyes can't catch more than darkness, leading to their unease, but they see enough for that uncertainty to be at odds with the awe they are feeling. The double line of towering pillars running down the room are like those in the main body of the colony, shaped like mighty trees with their boughs holding up the ceiling, which is carved so exquisitely that it is as if true ferns were over their heads rather than stone. As close as they are right now, and even with the poorer lighting, their human eyes manage to find the details they couldn't make out in the main city, and so an array of <i>ooh</i> and <i>aah</i> echoes at Koschei's back as he calmly makes his way further in, frowning at the ground. </p><p>Fissures cover their path, with vast chunks of the floor having fallen to deeper levels or barely hanging onto the walls, leaving a treacherous path for them to navigate, like a frozen lake. A wrong step could cause a person to fall, or could bring the rest of the floor down. Fortunately, one of the ribs of the chamber below their current one is still standing strong, connecting their side of the room to the corridor exiting on the other side, so they can easily use the smooth flat stone as a bridge, as long as they go one after the other. </p><p>And, more importantly, when Koschei takes in a deep breath after reassuring himself of the integrity of their 'bridge', he smells artron energy in the air. </p><p>The TARDIS. </p><p><i>Finally,</i> they're getting close. </p><p>“Come on, hurry up! We're almost there!” he calls back to the group of humans still huddling just inside the room, too awestruck by the Silurian craftmanship to move further inside, though they all turn to him as his cheerful voice echoes in the room, wide-eyed. “If in doubt… always follow your nose!” Koschei adds, and he's about to mock them for their deer-in-the-highlights looks, how stiff they are as they wait for the echo of his voice to fade, <i>finally</i> paying attention to whatever instincts they have, when <i>something else</i> fills the silence. </p><p>Drumbeats. </p><p>
  <i>Doom-boom, doom-boom. </i>
</p><p>It echoes once, twice, before it grows too faint to properly distinguish anymore, but by then, Koschei's heartsbeat has filled in the silence, drumming deafeningly in his ears and keeping his throat so tightly constricted that he wouldn't be able to draw breath even if he tried. </p><p>For a moment, while part of him is trying to wrestle his hearts down into a calmer and quieter beat, he thinks it is only him who has heard the drumming, that it's nothing but his imagination, or a ghost or who knows <i>what</i> coming back to haunt him for undisclosed reasons. </p><p>But then he sees Amy's bloodless face move as her lips form words he's too far to hear, and he knows all hope was in vain. </p><p>
  <i>Drums, drums in the deep. </i>
</p><p><i>They are coming. We cannot get out,</i> Rory answers, exchanging a worried look with his fiancée, before the both of them urge Arthur, Flint and Boyce to catch up to Koschei, all of them nervous and trying to be as quiet as they can. </p><p>Koschei manages to take in a small gasp of air before they reach him, pushing down his own panic at the realization that all is silent now, and so his voice doesn't tremble when they all finally stop at his side, staring at him expectantly. </p><p>“Probably a rock, falling down the chasm. Let's move on anyway. The sooner we get the TARDIS, the sooner we can find Miss Flint and leave this place,” he tells them, gesturing towards the bridge— </p><p>“God Almighty!” Arthur hisses, jerking in fear as he looks back, and Koschei twists around to stand in front of Amy and Rory— </p><p>And stills. </p><p>He doesn't know what the humans can see in the low light, but Koschei's eyes easily make out a silhouette in the corridor they just came out of, with the light of their torches catching soft metallic glints off of its armor. </p><p>A Silurian survivor. It's too far away and too dark to make it out properly, but it doesn't look as bulky as the Sea Devils or the Silurians Koschei had encountered before, those years playing around with UNIT when the Doctor was exiled on Earth, and that only makes him tense and urge the humans to the bridge. </p><p>Different subspecies have different talents. While no Silurian telepathy will be able to even tickle Koschei, or get past him to influence his ragtag band of humans, that doesn't mean this one doesn't have other weapons at its disposal, like the poison that killed Flint's men. </p><p>So, Koschei looks around, making a note of the patches of incendiary moss lying all over the place from the collapsed ceiling and their own natural growth, and slowly shuffles back and onto the bridge once the last of the humans is through. </p><p>The Silurian steps closer, still hugging the shadows but with its armor catching the light in quick flashes. It seems to be wearing a mask of sorts, if the stray glints off of its face are any indication, alongside the complete lack of shine from where its eyes should be. </p><p>… That, or it has no eyes. Koschei doesn't know of any eyeless Silurian subspecies, but that doesn't mean there were none. He's seen weirder, and, to an extent, he's also learnt to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to dealing with the Doctor – or, as is this case, with the Doctor's TARDIS. </p><p>If she's dropped them here, there has to be a reason, like she did back in Sicily. That, or it really is awful at landing where and when it should, though Koschei <i>really</i> hopes it isn't that bad, for his and the Ponds' sake. </p><p>The wedding's going to be very messy if both bride and groom are missing or come in late, and Koschei wouldn't want to deal with Amy if that was the case. </p><p>Which means he better take care of this now before it escalates. </p><p>“Hi there. I'm looking for a blue box, you wouldn't happen to have seen it, would you?” he asks calmly, making sure to smile politely as he stops his retreating steps, confident that, standing in the middle of the bridge as he is, the Silurian won't be able to get to his humans, and that he'll have a good way to fend it off were it to attack. </p><p>Or at least that was the reasoning, but that doesn't mean he doesn't jerk back with a gasp when the Silurian's <i>tongue</i> snaps at him, far longer than he expected and <i>that thing's tip is way too sharp— </i></p><p>He stumbles back, flips the screwdriver's settings and <i>activates it. </i></p><p>And the roomful of incendiary moss blazes to life, blinding them all with their flash of white light for about two seconds. When the light dies down, with only pockets of embers and small bonfires left from the rest of the moss catching fire, Koschei straightens without a hint of his polite smile left on his face. </p><p>The Silurian, crouched on the ground and ripping its mask off with a threatening hiss, looks up at him with squinted and watery eyes, snarling. </p><p>“Oh my God!” </p><p>“What <i>is</i> that thing?” </p><p>“She's beautiful…” </p><p>“Should I be jealous?” </p><p>“Shut up, stupid.” </p><p>“Who <i>is</i> this Gandalf of yours? How did he perform such – <i>witchcraft?” </i></p><p>“He's the Doctor, Arthur. And that's all you need to know.” </p><p>Koschei's grip on his screwdriver tightens, but he doesn't deliver the glare over his shoulder that he would <i>really</i> want to, knowing better than to look away from the Silurian. </p><p>“Who are you?” she hisses, stopping him from arguing with Amy about names—<i>again—</i>and so Koschei simply makes a mental nod to just suck it up and sit the Ponds down for the abridged and kid-friendly story of the Doctor and the Master once they're done. </p><p>Theta was right. If he wants them to <i>stop</i> calling him Doctor, he needs to tell them the full story – or as full as he can tell. Truth be told, he expected Jack to have fixed that issue when they landed in Cardiff, especially with how long he spent either unconscious or drifting, or maybe to have some of his comments give it away. Of course, to Amy and Rory he's still the Raggedy Man, the alien who recaptured Prisoner Zero and saved Zancle from the Laestrygonian and all that, so they wouldn't have shied away from him that much, but to have them <i>still</i> believe him the Doctor? </p><p>He <i>really</i> needs to fix that. </p><p>But now they need to deal with this Silurian and find the TARDIS. After, before he drops them in Leadworth, he'll tell them. He doesn't know how, but Koschei will tell them and they <i>will</i> stop calling him Doctor. And then, if they don't hate him and want to have nothing else to do with him, he'll have them meet the real Doctor once he manages to bring him back and they join them again for the Ponds' wedding. </p><p>“I'm 1350 years old. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I am the one who ended the Last Great Time War. I am the last of the Time Lords,” he answers solemnly, his voice carrying easily in the complete silence of a chamber full of people holding their breath, the Silurian's eyes widening in shock, disbelief and, he's proud to see, a hint of <i>fear.</i> “Whatever your tricks are, they won't work on me, and whatever your intentions are towards these humans, I will not let you carry them out. Go back to the shadows! You cannot pass.” </p><p>There's a clearly gleeful high-pitched squeal at his back, loud in the tense silence filling the room, and Koschei can't help the twitch in his eyes at the noise. Even <i>the Silurian</i> is distracted by the noise, her defiant snarl replaced by a confused scrunching of her snout as she looks past Koschei. </p><p>“Amelia, do you mind not squealing like a little girl while I'm threatening people?” he asks with a tired sigh, shoulders dropping and head lolling back before he turns to deliver a tired glare over his shoulder. </p><p>Cheeks bright red in embarrassment but still grinning widely, Amy shrugs sheepishly, Rory imitating the gesture with almost the same expression as his fiancée on his face. Whatever those two are on about, Koschei is starting to get <i>really</i> tired of it. </p><p>“Now, where were we?” he asks the Silurian, straightening again and scratching his head with his screwdriver for a moment before he remembers. “Ah, right. In short, I'm a traveler, just looking for my blue box before I can move on again. Nothing more and nothing less,” he adds, foregoing any more threats after Amy ruined the moment, simply rolling his screwdriver almost absentmindedly before turning serious once more. “I would apologize for your colony, but I have neither the right nor the intention to do it. I am not responsible for them, and they didn't collapse the tunnels on purpose. They just didn't have the tools to know the colony was here,” he adds when he sees her eyes flicker to the cluster of humans at the other side of the bridge again, as if weighing her chances of actually making it past him to get to them. “I could help you.” </p><p>“I need no help to slaughter these <i>apes,”</i> she hisses, straightening into a ready stance, and Koschei uses the chance to give the Silurian a quick look and make sure she doesn't have any kind of guns on her. </p><p>“No, you don't.” </p><p>“They will pay for the death of my people!” </p><p>“They will.” </p><p>“… Why aren't you trying to stop me?” the Silurian finally asks, narrowing her eyes when Koschei simply keeps agreeing, and so he smiles widely at her. </p><p>“Oh, I am! This is me, stopping you. You just haven't realized it yet. Alright, no, you have, but you are too busy being angry to realize I <i>do</i> mean my offer. I can help you go back to your people,” he explains calmly, and this time, her glare is equal parts burning and devastated. </p><p>“I am the last of my species,” she announces solemnly, and while he can sense the surprise and sorrow from the humans, the most prominent emotion he can feel is his own <i>jealousy. </i></p><p>He has to take a deep breath—<i>We're the only two left. There's no one else—</i>before he can answer, turning his jealousy into grief and then determination, and finally meets the Silurian's gaze once more. </p><p>“No, you are not. You may be the last of your colony, true,” he adds, lifting a hand to stop the Silurian from doing more than hiss threateningly. “But you are <i>not</i> the last of the Silurians. I have met others, before, and there are still more of you slumbering deep in the ground, waiting for the day you can finally rejoin the world under the sun. That day will come, I have <i>seen it.</i> And, if the offer of a future doesn't appeal to you, there is always the past,” he tells her calmly, managing a rueful smile when a hint of confusion appears amidst the anger in her blue eyes. “Didn't you pay attention? I'm a Time Lord. The <i>last</i> of the Time Lords. I have a TARDIS. <i>And,</i> as one who <i>knows</i> his whole species is lost, let me give you some advice. Breathe. <i>Listen.</i> I know it hurts, but control your anger. Anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake.” </p><p>“Killing the apes is <i>not</i> a mistake,” she hisses darkly once more, though her stance shifts to be more defensive than aggressive, as if she <i>finally</i> considers him a threat. “They <i>deserve</i> to die for what they did to my sisters!” </p><p>“Deserve it!” he repeats with a snort, unable to not see himself in her eyes, yet unable at the same time to push away the feeling of a too warm body quickly cooling in his arms, no pulse or drawn breath fueling a mind gone blank in death. “I daresay they do. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?” he asks the Silurian, who, even though she opens her mouth instantly with a definitive <i>yes!</i> in her lips, stills herself before she can speak it, pondering his words to reach the answer he hoped she would get at. “Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise can't see all ends,” he says after her unvoiced words, turning to look in the direction where the smell of artron energy is strongest, reminding himself that <i>he</i> can bring people back to life, before he meets the Silurian's eyes again. “Besides, if you kill them, you'll make an enemy out of me. Do you really want that?” he adds with a sharp smirk, opening his arms, and she straightens with a half growl half hiss. </p><p>“I have nothing left to lose.” </p><p>“Yes, you do! Didn't you pay attention?” he reprimands with a huff, dropping his arms to his sides and peering at her timeline. “You have love and a family and – are those swords? Huh. Lots of swords, apparently. And that's just <i>one</i> possible future. There are dinosaurs and a community in another, ships and trade in yet another one, and <i>so much more.</i> Come on, I just told you, I'm a <i>Time Lord.</i> Help me find my TARDIS and I can scan this colony for survivors, I can bring you to their awakening, or to another colony, or even to the past! Sure, killing humans is what that burning in your chest is telling you to do, hurt those that have hurt you so badly, but what happens after? Let me tell you. <i>Nothing.</i> Once you've killed all the humans on the planet, you'll realize you're still alone, and that those you loved are dead. And then? It won't be this Time Lord you'll have to deal with then, it'll be a really cross one. So, take a breath, and <i>listen</i> to me. Is that what you want? To kill every single human on the planet? Does that make you feel better? Does that make <i>everything else</i> feel right?” he asks, taking a step closer to the Silurian this time, who hisses almost nervously under the sharpness of the sound. “Come on! One word, <i>just</i> one word, because you can't lie with one word. Does killing them make you feel better? Does killing them make <i>this</i> all better?” he adds, gesturing around at the broken vault. “How does that make you feel?” </p><p>“Alone!” the Silurian barks, bristling and stepping up to Koschei until they're almost nose to nose, glaring into each other's eyes – before the Silurian jerks back with a startled gasp, eyes widening in realization. “Alone…” </p><p>“Yeah. It was better before you realized that, wasn't it?” he answers softly with an understanding half smile, and the Silurian <i>stares.</i> “I told you. I <i>did</i> let my anger get the best of me. But when I finally stopped and listened…” he adds, trailing off to, for the first time, look away from the Silurian, turning to see Amy and Rory at the edge of the fissure, looking about ready to rush over to his side if he so much as <i>shivers.</i> “I'm serious. If you help me find my TARDIS, I can get you to where you want to be. I'll even forget about those five dead humans. The stars know I've done far worse. But this citadel is too big for me to scour, and you've been active for long enough to know the tunnels better than Flint and his men. So, what do you say?” he asks, turning to the Silurian once more to see her staring at her own hands. </p><p>“That's what she said,” she whispers, and Koschei frowns in confusion. “That's what – alone. That's what <i>she</i> said,” she repeats once more, this time meeting Koschei's eyes as if expecting an answer, but he still doesn't know what the Silurian is talking— </p><p>Five dead bodies, all of them men. One missing girl. </p><p>“Mister Flint's daughter. You found her,” he says, the pieces finally clicking together, and while the Silurian doesn't answer nor recognize the name, the way she still expects him to respond is more than clue enough. “The human female. The fat one over there is her father. Did you kill her too?” </p><p>“I… Maybe. I poisoned her. She might be – she's an ape! Why should I care?” the Silurian snarls back, defensively, and Koschei sighs and rubs his face. </p><p>“Ugh, of course. Just help me find my TARDIS. Once we have her back, we'll have to retrieve the body, so Mister Flint can do whatever and – Wait. You said 'might'. She could still be alive?” he asks, the words finally catching up to him, and the Silurian answers with a grumpy hiss. “Look, that over there is a father worried for his daughter, no matter how little he actually deserves her. And he provided us with the torches. So, get me to that girl, help me find my TARDIS, and I'll see if I can't perform a miracle worthy of the Doctor and manage to save everyone,” he orders, and the Silurian seems startled enough by the no-nonsense tone of his voice to straighten and nod in more surprise than acquiescence. “Good. Now, what's your name?” he asks, turning around to walk over the bridge to the rest of the humans, and, after another second of surprise at having the Time Lord turn his back on her, the Silurian's muffled steps and softly clinking armor follow. </p><p>“Vastra. And I will <i>not</i> collaborate with those <i>apes!” </i></p><p>“I am not asking you to. But know that if you touch a hair on either of these two, my goodwill is over. Do you know how hard it is to find non-irritating humans?” he tells her seriously, stepping on the other side and gesturing to Amy and Rory, who turn their awed and wary looks into annoyed glares at his words. “These are Amy and Rory. That one is Arthur, don't kill him either. And Mister Flint and – who are you again?” </p><p>“Kieran Boyce.” </p><p>“Right, and Mister Boyce. Everyone, this is Vastra. She hates you all very much but she knows where to find both Miss Flint and my TARDIS, so you're all going to behave and stay away from her to keep anyone from killing each other. Understood?” he tells them with a grin, though the look he delivers to Flint and Boyce is ice cold. </p><p>Vastra hisses. </p><p>“And you, remember it is <i>me</i> you're working with. These are my pets, so ignore them and it'll all work out,” he warns the Silurian, who, for a moment, looks ready to just stab the humans with her poisonous tongue instead, but finally nods reluctantly. “Good. Now, the sooner you get us to Miss Flint and my TARDIS, the sooner I can get you back to your people.” </p><p>“We're his pets?” Arthur whispers to Amy as they quietly follow after Vastra, with Koschei first in line and the humans keeping their distance. </p><p>“Just take it. As long as he's insulting, everything's alright,” Rory answers instead, earning himself a huff from Amy, but she doesn't retort. </p><p>Flint and Boyce are whispering at the back of the group once more, but Koschei can't make out anything suspicious beyond that when he looks over his shoulder. </p><p>Then again, he's just single-handedly decided to have the 'monster' be their guide, so he'd be more surprised if they <i>weren't</i> whispering at the back of the group. </p><p>He's still going to keep an eye on them. </p><p>Judging by the narrow-eyed glare Vastra sends him over her shoulder, he's not the only one. However, there's curiosity alongside wariness in her eyes, and so Koschei takes a deep breath in through the nose and steps a bit faster to be by her side, carefully relaxed yet with his screwdriver still in his grip and at the ready. </p><p>He is <i>not</i> ignorant or naive enough not to, especially not with how ticked off she is. And with good reason, too. But when that good reason has her targeting Amy and Rory, Koschei can't say he agrees with it. </p><p>“But <i>why</i> does he trust this monster? It killed Jonas and the others! And it has admitted to wishing to kill the rest of us!” Arthur protests to the Ponds loud enough that his words carry clearly to Koschei and Vastra, who snarls softly and glares back at him. </p><p>“Yeah, after <i>everyone she knew</i> died when your construction caved in the ceiling on them. You didn't mean to, but you did, and she's hurting now. It doesn't justify her actions, but you have to try and understand her,” Amy retorts, firm but understanding herself, directing a brief glance at Koschei before refocusing on Arthur. “At least don't antagonize her. And don't call her an it!” </p><p>“What for? What would that accomplish? A monster is a monster. What's to stop her from killing all of us when we turn our backs?” </p><p>“Just because she's different that doesn't make her a monster,” Rory answers this time, no reluctance or hesitation in his voice. “There's good in this world, Arthur, and in <i>all</i> of its people, regardless of appearances. And <i>that</i> is worth fighting for.” </p><p>Rory must be delivering quite an impressive look to go with his words, because Arthur doesn't protest again. </p><p>However, it isn't just the man who has been affected by those words, judging by the tension on Vastra's shoulders and the way she looks at Koschei as if she's trying to find all answers to her questions on his face. </p><p>Koschei huffs and smirks, never looking away from the tunnel they're walking through. </p><p>“You can learn all there is to know about their ways in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you,” he tells her calmly, and this time, her only answer is to swallow her next words and ponder for almost a full minute. </p><p>“I have heard many tales of Time Lords and Gallifrey. Why would you, with all your years and wisdom, last of your kind or otherwise, ever associate with such a weak species?” she asks, and this time, Koschei can't help but tense for a second before he relaxes his shoulders with a sigh, lifting his scarred right hand so Vastra can see the marred skin. </p><p>“Many are the strange chances of the universe, and help often comes from the hands of the weak when the wise falter,” he tells her softly, looking back to meet Amy's soft smile and Rory's flustered grin. </p><p>It's not about being there to help him when he got himself injured, but also about helping him keep his head, and leading him to discover that he <i>can</i> fix things, that not all is lost and he can bring the Doctor back. </p><p>Without those two idiots, without his humans, <i>his Ponds…</i> Well, Koschei isn't sure if he would have ever realized he <i>really</i> had something to live for. </p><p>Vastra hesitates, but when she next spares a look at the humans, now far more relaxed and with the Ponds trying to talk Arthur back into whatever stories they have been telling him, there's a lot more careful consideration and just a hint of resentment in her eyes. </p><p>Looks like it has finally dawned that all this was an accident. That, or that Koschei is truly serious about being able to bring her back to her colony with his TARDIS. Hope can be as blinding as ignorance, and even harder to ignore. He would know. </p><p>Still, the Silurian shakes her head, shelving whatever thoughts she'd been dwelling in for another time, and picks up the pace. </p><p>“The female is in the next chamber. I cannot promise she would still be alive; my poison works differently with each specimen. But that she has survived as far as she has, even with an escape attempt, speaks much of her strength,” she tells them as they turn into a smaller corridor, walking past a couple more exits or empty rooms— </p><p>And there, lying on her side with her hands tied at her back, is a young woman in a dark green dress, her brown hair tied in a bun but slipping out of it to stick to her flushed and sweaty face, her breaths coming in short and tremulous past her pale lips. </p><p>Her eyes are open, if half-lidded, and still manage to focus some on them when they finally get into the room. </p><p>“Jennifer!” Flint exclaims, falling to his knees by the girl's side almost as fast as Rory does. “You stupid, <i>foolish</i> girl. How many times have I told you not to wander into the sites?” he reproaches sharply, the fear that makes his face go pale as death fueling the anger in his shaky voice. </p><p>Rory scoffs but doesn't bother sparing him a look, undoing the restraints on her wrists so he can lie the girl on her back and check the injury on her collarbone, green veins stretching over what little is visible of her skin under the ripped dress. </p><p>“That doesn't look good…” Arthur whimpers breathlessly, standing by the entrance with Amy and Boyce so as to not crowd, while Koschei gets to his knees next to Rory and shamelessly unbuttons the girl's dress to properly check on the wound. </p><p>“Mister Gandalf! I will not have you—” </p><p>“Oh, shut up and let the professionals work! Would you rather have your daughter dressed primly but dead, or with her shoulder exposed and alive?” he snarls at Flint, whose face scrunches painfully as he debates the issue before finally nodding. </p><p>“Doctor? I really don't know what to do here. I mean, I can disinfect and bandage the injury, sure, but the poison…” Rory calls, wiping the injury clean with careful swipes of a pad of gauze he pulled out of his mystery kit, working tenderly to avoid irritating the swollen flesh any more than it already is. </p><p>“Vastra, any ideas on how to treat this? Any tech in this part of the city that we could use? I think I may be able to concoct something back in the TARDIS, but it may not be as effective as a proper Silurian treatment,” he asks, scanning the girl with the screwdriver and frowning at the results. “It seems to target her DNA, producing mutations. Nothing irreversible so far, but it could quickly turn deadly. Or worse.” </p><p>“There is nothing,” Vastra answers almost subdued, looking at Koschei with new eyes, both awed and yet more scared than before, though he can't figure out why, sticking to the wall she's pressing against, away from the group in the middle of the room and those clustered at the door. “Nothing that would work on an ape, that is.” </p><p>“TARDIS it is. Rory, do what you can for the wound, the last thing we want is an infection on top of everything else. Arthur, you're the tallest and fittest of the group, you'll have to carry her on the way. Amy, go with Vastra to collect whatever might be of use. I'll try to find out where the TARDIS is,” he orders them, and everyone nods or answers positively when his eyes land on them. </p><p>“And me?” Boyce scowls, more mutinous than actually peeved at being left out. </p><p>“You stick to Mister Flint and make sure he doesn't interfere with the medical professional,” he answers mockingly, but the seriousness in his eyes is more than enough to keep Boyce's retort to a glare. </p><p>That done, Koschei turns to the desk in the middle of the room and, with a whir of the sonic, activates the holographic computer. </p><p>There are some gasps and more murmurs of witchcraft, but he deftly ignores them as he accesses the blueprints of the colony and what surveillance is still intact, using his own sense of smell and feelers alongside the map to try and find out <i>where</i> his TARDIS is. </p><p>Amy and Vastra come back not a moment later, with the Silurian glaring at the redhead with more confusion than annoyance and with Amy looking as proud and smug as when she manages to get Koschei to agree to something, while Arthur kneels by Rory's side and helps him by holding his instruments. Rory doesn't want to use any pain relievers or antibiotics on Jenny, as her father calls her in his murmurs for her to stay strong, in case they conflict with whatever Silurian medicine they'll be able to get in her, but he still cleans the wound and has some extra gauze ready to bandage it tightly once he's done with that. </p><p>… Well, now Koschei knows what the mystery kit is, and he feels almost disappointed in himself for not having figured it out earlier. Still, really clever on Rory's part. He <i>knew</i> there was a reason he liked him. That human knows how to prepare for any eventuality, what with his research on the TARDIS and this kit. He had that on his person for his <i>stag,</i> of all things! </p><p>“Here,” Vastra whispers, holding a small jar towards Arthur as soon as she and Amy enter the room, and, despite tensing in distrust, the man finally takes it. “It's a Silurian antibiotic. It should cleanse her wound without harming her.” </p><p>“We tried it, she scanned me with a machine in the infirmary to make sure there was nothing in the human body that would react badly to Silurian medicine,” Amy explains when Arthur still hesitates, and Koschei sends a <i>Look</i> her way. “Don't give me that! We had to make sure it would work! We don't know about the actual treatment, we could only retrieve these vials to make the cure out of, but we still needed to check,” she protests at Koschei's look, her eyes daring him to argue. </p><p>“Why would you do such a dangerous thing?!” Flint exclaims, as if he can't really understand why anyone would do that, and Koschei turns back to his blueprints even as he rolls his eyes. </p><p>“Walking out one's front door is a dangerous business, Flint. And yet, it's something everyone needs to do sooner or later. If we all worried so much about everyday dangers, nothing would ever get done,” he scoffs, frowning softly as he tries to recover the files for a part of the corridors that lost visual not that long ago. </p><p>“It's a dangerous business, walking out one's front door,” Amy repeats with a wise air about her, and Rory groans even as he tries to keep a smile at bay, finishing with the bandages around Jenny's shoulder after applying the antibiotic. </p><p>“You're back…” a weak voice whispers in the silence, and all eyes turn to the injured girl on the floor, whose eyes are finally focused on Vastra, still standing by Arthur's side. </p><p>The Silurian tenses, hissing softly in what Koschei suspects is a sign of how uncomfortable she really is when everyone turns to her, before she slowly lowers herself into a crouch when Arthur shuffles back to make space. </p><p>“I am,” she answers slowly, carefully, before gesturing to Flint. “I found your father.” </p><p>“… No, he isn't… My father wouldn't come… He doesn't… think me important… Why doesn't he care…?” the girl weeps softly, her feverish gaze moving from Flint's stricken face to Vastra's now clearly uncomfortable one. </p><p>“He came. He cares,” the Silurian answers simply, shortly, snout curling as if the words tasted foul on her tongue. </p><p>“… Daddy?” Jenny calls in a small and scared whisper, turning fully to her father, who seems to decide his daughter is more important than any reputation he could have and carefully cradles her against his plump front with a sob, tears streaming down his face. “Daddy… I'm sorry I don't like men…” </p><p>“Oh, Jenny, my Jenny… Hush now, it doesn't matter. You're going to be alright, that's all I care about,” he sobs, stroking her face and wiping her tears off of her cheeks. </p><p>“Are you alright?” Amy asks softly, suddenly standing at Koschei's side and resting a hand on his forearm, hands hovering over the holographic screen he has all but forgotten. </p><p>“Wha—Who, me? Of course I'm alright,” he huffs, recovering from the surprise of Amy's sudden appearance, and realizes even before Amy rests her hands on his cheeks that his eyes are wetter than they should. “This is nothing. It's the screen, its light after all the tunnels and torchlight—” he tries to protest, tugging on Amy's hands with what he knows is nowhere close to enough strength to get out of her practically non-existent hold, part of him actually enjoying her warm skin against his own chilled one. </p><p>“I will not say do not weep, for not all tears are an evil,” she recites half proudly and half sincerely, and Koschei has to blink a couple times before he finally pulls her hands off his face softly, smirking knowingly. </p><p>“Once we're back in the TARDIS, you have to tell me where you get all those quotes from.” </p><p>“Deal,” she agrees with a wink and a grin, squeezing his hands, which he has still wrapped around her own, before she steps back to his side to look at the screen. “So, found the TARDIS yet?” </p><p>“Almost,” he answers, tapping once more as he finishes with what he hopes is the recovery program—and smiles widely as he finds the timestamp of the loss of visual is the same as when the TARDIS fell down the sinkhole. “Aha! Found her! Right, team, let's move. Team? Nah, crew? Squad?” he muses, turning off the display and exchanging a look with Amy, who grins knowingly. </p><p>“Fellowship?” </p><p>“… I don't know where you got that from, but no, no <i>way.</i> Bunch of humans and one Silurian, <i>move it,”</i> he orders, ignoring Amy's snickers as he gestures them towards the door— </p><p>And whirls around with a chocked breath, dragging Amy away from the wall as it rips open into a crack of light, something <i>terrifyingly familiar</i> almost snapping at his time feelers before he retracts them. </p><p>“Doctor, Amy!” Rory shouts, hurrying to their side and grabbing onto his fiancée's arm, but Koschei is too busy staring at the crack in the wall to protest about being called Doctor <i>again. </i></p><p>“How can it be here?!” Amy protests, as wide-eyed as Koschei is, clearly recognizing the shape of the spatiotemporal fissure. </p><p>Her horror is justified, especially after seeing the same crack <i>twice</i> aboard the <i>Byzantium,</i> but Koschei's own comes from a completely different revelation. </p><p>He hadn't had his time feelers stretched when the first fissure opened aboard the <i>Byzantium,</i> and he had definitely <i>not</i> prodded the one in Amy's bedroom with more than the Doctor's screwdriver, knowing better than to mess with time in such a way. But he <i>had</i> with this one, and what he'd felt… </p><p>“Step back,” he tells the Ponds, taking out his screwdriver and carefully scanning the crack, making a note of the fact it seems to widen slowly. </p><p>“Doctor—!” </p><p>“I said step back! Vastra, take them to my TARDIS, section T-57. I'll be there in a moment, I just need to… check…” he lets his words trail off as he checks the results of the scan, eyes widening but brows furrowing in disbelief. </p><p>And then, deciding to throw caution to the wind, he pockets the screwdriver and pulls out a handkerchief, closing the distance until he's standing right in front of the crack – and plunges his hand in. </p><p>This time, he can't make sense of what Amy and Rory are shouting over his pained scream, but he still manages to snarl at them to <i>stay back,</i> trying to ignore the pain of hot-cold-flame-time-out-of-synch-time-gone-<i>notimealldeadNeverwereNeverwasCouldHaveNeverBeen— </i></p><p>His hand closes on something and he pulls himself away from the crack so hastily that he ends up flat on his back, holding the whatever he retrieved from the crack tightly wrapped against his chest. </p><p>Amy and Rory are suddenly at his sides, calling his name and helping him up – wait. </p><p>“Do <i>not</i> call me Doctor,” he growls at them, recovering his breath and sitting up on his own to deliver a scathing glare. </p><p>The bloody Ponds have the nerve to <i>smile</i> instead of cower. </p><p>That's it, Koschei's dropping them off in Leadworth as soon as they get back to the TARDIS, there's no way he'll ever manage to get anything done now that even Rory has lost all fear of him. </p><p>“He's alright,” Rory comments happily, though he watches him like a hawk after helping him back to his feet, ensuring he's not going to faceplant or something equally ridiculous. </p><p>“Of course I'm alright, you dimwit. And I told you two to stay back! I thought at least you, Rory, still had enough common sense to—” </p><p>
  <i>“If that's what I have to do. It's time to change. Maybe I've been wandering for too long. Now I've got someone to care for.” </i>
</p><p>The gunshot is so loud in the small room to almost drown that one word, shouted with fear and desperation almost as strong as the hand that pushes Koschei away from the bullet's path. </p><p>Almost. </p><p>“<i>Doctor!” </i></p><p>Koschei is back on his feet almost as soon as he hits the ground, rolling off the body he crashed into and towards that voice, that hand, <i>that fear— </i></p><p>The sight of red pooling behind his savior's head is even more macabre than that of red blood soaking onto an already red sweater. </p><p>He doesn't hear himself cry out her name, doesn't feel his mouth opening or his legs moving. One instant he's crouching atop a startled Rory, not yet aware of what happened or who crashed into him. The next, he's kneeling by Amelia's side, taking one glance at the bullet hole—between the ribs, spurting bright red blood from a punctured aorta or another artery <i>way too fast—</i>and rounding on Boyce with a wordless shout and a snarl that could only be called human because, in his blind rage, his first instinct is to <i>not</i> unravel in front of tridimensional beings. </p><p>The screwdriver whirs silently, drowned by the drums thundering in his ears and filling his sight with images of death, but he still manages to see that the timeline to come into effect is not the one where he used the sonic screech to drop Boyce and the rest of the humans unconscious, but the one where the gun blows up in Boyce's hand and the <i>Dalek reject</i> gets electrocuted by the broken console he slams into as he falls onto his back. </p><p>If he wasn't so busy turning to Amelia and trying to beat the drums into silence, he would feel <i>pleased. </i></p><p>As it is, he feels <i>terrified,</i> more so when she grabs onto his hand when he reaches for her sweater to pull it away and ascertain the damage that <i>he knows it's bad, that's too much blood and flowing too fast— </i></p><p>“Let me see, let me—” he tells her as softly as he can manage, pushing down his horror so he can give Amy a calm smile that he doesn't really feel because <i>that's a lethal wound,</i> and there's blood trickling down from Amy's lips and she can't seem to breath any deeper than a gasp. </p><p>Rory is screaming at his back, shouting Amy's name over and over and struggling against Vastra's grip, but the Silurian wrenches him away from them, telling him to <i>let the Doctor work, if anyone can save her it's him, come on, we need to move before whatever that light is devours the whole room— </i></p><p>Amy sobs, tears pooling in her eyes as they leave Koschei's face to see her fiancé fighting Vastra with all he has to get to her side, and Koschei immediately lifts a tremulous hand to gently wipe the tear off of her pale and quickly cooling cheek, trying to drown his own panic as he flips desperately between timelines in search for a solution, something that is <i>not</i> easy with the Rassilon-damned crack <i>expanding so fast— </i></p><p>“Hey, hey, hush now, I'm here, we'll fix this, just—” he whispers to her, forcing the tremor away from his voice as Amy meets his smile once more with her eyes quickly losing focus— </p><p>Her breath hitches on a thought so strong that it echoes in Koschei's mind even without him trying to catch it. </p><p>
  <i>Oh… I'm not scared… </i>
</p><p>Her eyes fill with something warm and all-encompassing and that he refuses to acknowledge because <i>this is not the time,</i> as her lips twitch into a smile— </p><p>A sigh, too loud even with his heartsbeat filling his ears, his chest, his brains, and Amy's head lolls to the side. </p><p>Amelia's—<i>the Doctor's—</i>body is completely limp in his arms, colder than is healthy even for a human—<i>Gallifreyan—,</i> brown—<i>blind—</i>eyes closed and face almost relaxed into what could almost be called a smile. No weak and erratic heartbeat—<i>heartsbeat—</i>flutters against the arm Koschei—<i>the Master—</i>still has around her—<i>his—</i>back, no mind waiting for—<i>brushing against—</i>Koschei's—<i>the Master's—</i>frantically reaching one. </p><p>
  <i>“See you in five minutes!” </i>
</p><p><i>He promises, as best as he can, but she still pouts, tiny arms crossed against her chest and dark eyes glaring accusingly up at him, because he had promised before, this was supposed to be </i>her <i>time with her Daddy, but Daddy has to leave now </i>again, <i>like all those other times before, and</i> it's not fair. </p><p>
  <i>“See you in five minutes!” </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He promises, knowing it's true, because those big trusting eyes and that spitfire personality had ensnared him before he had a chance to realize it was doing so, and she knows as well as he does that he'll be back, so while her shiny eyes are full of tears there's still a smile on her face, and unshakable trust in him and his word to keep the sadness of his departure at bay. </i>
</p><p>See you in five minutes. </p><p>There aren't five minutes, not anymore, not ever again, not in any future, any possibility, any Could've Been or Meanwhile or Neverwere— </p><p>The crack expands and there's nothing, no matter how much he flips, but this nothing, this <i>non-existence</i> is unnatural, it's <i>reversible,</i> and if he can turn back time and bring back what was lost— </p><p>If he can fix what the cracks erased, he can bring those lost back – <i>alive. </i></p><p>He just needs— </p><p>
  <i>“He has a strong heart, one that will not give up, one which will hold onto your love until the end of the world and beyond. Not even death will take the love out of his heart.” </i>
</p><p>—Rory. </p><p>He's still screaming in Vastra's arms, eyes so full of the same tears cascading down his cheeks and chocking his voice that there's no way he can see anything clearly, but that doesn't stop him from fighting against the Silurian's grip with all his might, trying to reach Koschei, to get to— </p><p>Koschei looks down at the body in his arms, at the ever-growing crack – and gently but quickly leaves Amelia's corpse on the ground. </p><p>“Move away from the light. Move! If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history. We need to get to the TARDIS, <i>now!”</i> he orders, squeezing the unnaturally—<i>nonononono—</i>cold hands one last time before grabbing the handkerchief-wrapped thing he salvaged from the crack and finally standing up and moving away from Amy. </p><p>“No! I'm not leaving her! <i>You have to help her!”</i> Rory snarls, struggling even more to the point Vastra is starting to look troubled as she tries to wrestle him away from the body on the ground, which is starting to be enveloped by tendrils of light that make Koschei's memories of little Amelia split into different Could've Been before being sucked into Neverwere. </p><p>“The light's already around her, we can't help,” he tells Rory as he ushers Flint and Arthur, with Jenny in his arms, out of the room, approaching Vastra to try and help her with Rory. </p><p>“<i>I won't leave her!”</i> Rory roars— </p><p>Koschei stumbles and almost falls to the ground, ears ringing and sight blotching for a couple of seconds after Rory <i>punched</i> him, which leaves him in shock for one extra second – until a nasty <i>crack</i> and the urgency of the expanding crack—<i>heh—</i>bring him back to the present, that is. </p><p>Rory slumping in her arms like a sack of potatoes, with his forehead reddened in the beginnings of a bruise, Vastra looks at Koschei expectantly and with a hint of wariness, but no remorse. </p><p>Koschei spares forty-five milliseconds to admire Vastra's effectiveness and tough skull, but quickly shakes his head, nods at her, and rushes out of the room to guide the group to the TARDIS, the Silurian carrying his now unconscious companion over her shoulder. </p><p>Adrenaline makes up for the weight in Arthur's arms and Flint's obvious lack of fitness, so they reach the alcove where a dusty but undamaged TARDIS is waiting for them in no time, which Koschei opens hurriedly but with a long and heartfelt caress to her side at finally being back at her side. No one complains about the apparent lack of space when he ushers them in, though the rumbling of the walls and the cracking ceiling might have something to do with that. </p><p>“What's happening out there?” Vastra asks when Koschei joins them inside, closing the doors at his back, her eyes wide and pain and fear in her voice. </p><p>“The crack is destabilizing the structure of the colony, erasing it having been there in the first place and thus destabilizing – Ugh, forget that! Timey-wimey spacey-wacey stuff. Now get in that corridor, first room on the left, get Jenny and Rory strapped down in the beds and grab onto something. <i>Go!”</i> he orders, already rushing around the console as he clings to the TARDIS and basks in her warm welcome and hides in her pain and condolences and revels in her hope all at once. </p><p>Flint looks around, mutters <i>witchcraft</i> one last time, but looks down at his daughter's unconscious and pale face, cheeks red in her fever, and pushes everything else aside to lead the way to the infirmary. </p><p>Koschei gives them thirty seconds before he's forced to dematerialize the TARDIS, hoping he has managed to polish the coordinates enough to get them to the surface, and feels immensely grateful when, after the initial violent tremors from escaping from the proximity of a spatiotemporal rift of such magnitude, the rest of the process goes smoothly. </p><p>He turns everything off, runs a quick diagnostic and scan of their surroundings, physical and in the time-space continuum, and when everything comes green, finally slumps against the console with a chocked sob – and his tightly-clenched fist taps into something plastic and velvety. </p><p>He looks up, blinking back the beginning of tears, and feels his throat close as he recognizes the tiny box lodged halfway into a groove between the flight stabilizers and the switches for the chameleon circuit settings. </p><p>Tremulously and without conscious order, his fingers uncurl jerkily and wrap around the box as if it was the most precious item in the whole universe. </p><p>A soft click later, Koschei finds himself staring down at a golden ring with a shining diamond on it, carefully and lovingly nested in a burgundy velvet cushion. </p><p>
  <i>Amy smiles, taking the box and pondering for one last moment whether to bring the ring with her, but finally decides on leaving it behind, checking one last time that it won't go rolling when she next opens the box, before carefully leaving it between a couple switches on the console and rushing to join the other two outside. </i>
</p><p>A tear lands on Koschei's hand, and he hurriedly closes the box and wipes at his eyes. With a deep breath, the box goes into an inner pocket before he sets for the infirmary. </p><p>The door is still open, but the voices he catches from the inside, while frantic, are civil. A moment later, when he's finally at the door, he catches Vastra gawking at all the equipment around, cradling some vials to her chest that she carefully leaves in a rack before she rearranges the machinery hesitatingly. Arthur is standing next to Rory, still unconscious in a bed that seems taken out of an actual 1880s hospital, while Flint dabs at the sweat on his daughter's forehead, lying on a second bed. </p><p>“Do you have everything you need for a cure?” he asks, startling them all, but focusing on Vastra, who hesitates before finally scowling down at the vials. </p><p>“No, I do not. I thought I took everything I needed, but I'm missing half of the required composts,” she scowls, and there's a stabbing feeling deep in his chest at the memory of Amelia helping Vastra procure said composts. “I can use some of my own venom to synthesize an antidote, but it will take far longer to nurse her back to health. Fortunately, with this method I can use far simpler technology to restock on the antidote, so you'll be able to move on as soon as you drop us somewhere safe.” </p><p>“Us?” Koschei repeats, frowning in confusion, and Vastra pointedly looks away from him, her scales darkening into a deeper green in what he assumes is a blush. </p><p>“You're a Time Lord. If there are more of us left, even if – even if my sisters are dead… I trust your word. I have committed crimes I will not apologize for, but I can make amends. And her…” Vastra looks over her shoulder discreetly, fondness and curiosity in her eyes as she observes Flint and his daughter. “She's different. She looked at me and didn't see a monster, unlike myself. In her, I saw only another ape, her hands stained with my sisters' blood. But she looked at me and saw I was lonely, long before I realized it myself. She granted me an equal standing. The least I can do to repay her is see that she recovers. And maybe… Maybe the paths that we each shall tread are already laid before our feet, though we do not see them,” she adds, this time meeting Koschei's gaze, who simply nods without bothering to look into her words and leaves her to start synthesizing the antidote. </p><p>Arthur is eerily quiet when Koschei joins him at Rory's bedside, simply staring as the Time Lord looks over the lump growing on his only remaining companion's forehead. He'll live, even if he'll have a killer headache when he wakes up. Fortunately for him, Koschei manages to find some anti-inflammatory cream in one of the cupboards, which he carefully spreads over the bruise darkening his forehead, careful not to disturb his rest. The tears on his face are easy to wipe, leaving only some redness behind – for now. </p><p>“What's in your mind?” Koschei finally asks once he puts the cream aside, watching as Jenny turns in her fever dream to better feel her father's hand on her cheek. </p><p>Arthur stay silent for almost a minute, as if he hadn't heard the question, but finally his shoulders slump and he lets out a weary sigh. </p><p>“I just… Can't believe that this is it. All of the fear, Jonas' death… His killer is standing there right now, and I can't even blame her for it, knowing she was suffering my same pain many times more strongly than I did, with all of her people gone. It's just… Why couldn't this be simple? I never wanted to be a hero in a story, to accomplish great deeds or anything of the like!” </p><p>“Only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero,” Koschei points out, but by the way Arthur's jaw clenches, that doesn't help. </p><p>“Still. I wish it need not have happened in my time.” </p><p>“So do I,” Koschei agrees softly, thinking of Theta and little Amelia and how Rory is going to feel when he wakes up, before forcing his thoughts past all that. “And so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us,” he explains, and this once, Arthur's look is of interest as much as it is of confusion, with perhaps the slightest hint of hope in the mix. “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us to take care of those years wherein we are set, nurturing and cleansing the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not for us to decide.” </p><p>“I guess so,” Arthur finally answers, meeting Flint's eyes when his employer looks up, before turning away. “I still don't know how I could be of help. All I have ever studied, all I learned in my lessons and my parent's bookshop…” </p><p>“The world is not in your books and maps. It is out there,” Koschei interrupts, and Arthur turns to him in surprise. “Don't you think it's time you set out to do what you <i>wanted</i> to do? Find that, and everything else will come after.” </p><p>And, with those last words, Koschei leaves Arthur's side so the man can ponder over his words, calmly approaching Flint once the man sits down on the chair next to his daughter's bed. </p><p>“I believe an apology is in order. And my gratitude. I did not believe in your wizard tricks, and when it finally dawned on me that you may actually be the genuine article, I thought you arrived too late to save my daughter. But you did not. It was late enough to make me realize things I had forgotten, or perhaps I had never known them at all, yet still early enough to return my little girl to me,” Flint says calmly, but his voice is tired and frayed with more emotions than Koschei cares to decipher, holding onto Jenny's hand in a way that leaves Koschei both jealous and about to scream. </p><p>“A Wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to,” he answers casually, his lips twitching into what in another timeline would've been a smirk, had Amy been around and Rory awake, sure they would have enjoyed him adding to the whole 'wizard' thing. </p><p>In another timeline. </p><p>“So it seems,” Flint huffs, still so focused on Jenny that he doesn't notice Koschei's own emotional mess. “We are indeed fortunate to have met you, and to have you by our sides.” </p><p>“I am with you at present, but soon I shall not be. I am not staying in London,” he tells Flint, who <i>finally</i> jerks his head up to meet his empty eyes with his startled and dreading ones. “You must settle this affair yourselves, that's what you have been working towards,” he adds, gesturing between the occupants of the infirmary, his voice loud enough that he has the attention of everyone conscious. “Do you not yet understand? My time here is over. It is no longer my task to set things to rights, or to help you do so. Not that you need the help. You have experienced enough, grown enough, that I have no fear in leaving you three to set arrangements for the future.” </p><p>Arthur hesitates for a moment, looking at the other two to try and see what their opinions are. Vastra hisses and straightens, but after a look at the chemicals she's started to mix and prepare, she turns to Flint with pride and defiance in her eyes, daring him not to agree to Koschei's statement. And Flint, after a moment of clenched jaw and anger at past slights, turns to his sleeping daughter and lets all the resentment go to meet Vastra's eyes and nod, if a bit recalcitrant. </p><p>It won't be easy, but Koschei's sure they'll work something out. </p><p>Of course, that's when Rory chooses to wake up with a groan and some curse words slurred under his breath. Arthur grabs his hand before he can rub the bump on his forehead, and by the time he has managed to blink his eyes clear and focus on his surroundings, Koschei is by his side, expectant and fearful at once. </p><p>“Doctor? Where are we? What happened?” he mumbles, rubbing his eyes and carefully sitting up against the headboard with Koschei's help. “I remember finding Jenny, and a white light and… Did I get hit on the head?” </p><p>“Yes, you did,” Koschei answers carefully, meeting Rory's eyes when he finally takes his hand off his face, his confusion clearing when he looks around and sees the others in the infirmary. </p><p>“Oh, we got there in time to save Jenny, didn't we? That's a relief,” he sighs with a smile, relaxing and grinning at both Flint and Vastra. “And this is the TARDIS, right? I've never been in this room before… Did you have to carry me? I wasn't too heavy, was I?” </p><p>“Not at all,” Vastra answers this time, lips twitching into something that can either be depreciating or proud. </p><p>Rory, being Rory, takes it as pride in her own strength, grinning again. </p><p>“Glad to know. I was afraid he'd had to drag me on the floor. He isn't exactly the tallest of the bunch,” he adds, pointing at Koschei. </p><p>But while the others chuckle or relax at the cheerful words, Koschei feels something cold wrap around his hearts. </p><p>“What do you remember of-of before the tunnels?” he asks carefully, pushing down panic, and Rory blinks in surprise before scowling. </p><p>“That's right! You promised me a party and instead dropped me here! What a guide you are,” he huffs indignantly, with irritation in his eyes but not true anger, <i>never</i> true anger. </p><p>Koschei's throat closes and, without a word or looking back when Rory calls for him—<i>Doctor? Wait, I wasn't serious!—</i>Koschei leaves the room and rushes to the console, grabbing onto it tightly as he accepts the TARDIS' crooning, holding onto her as he tries to figure out how to breathe and silence the drums in his ears— </p><p>
  <i>He forgot her. Rory forgot Amy. Lamia said he wouldn't but he forgot and I can't bring Amy back without an anchor, without Rory's memories, but he forgot her and Amy is gone and— </i>
</p><p>A cool and raspy hand wraps around his wrist, ripping his hand from the console to rest it on a scaly temple— </p><p>
  <i>Breathe. </i>
</p><p>Koschei gasps, the air flooding his lungs despite how little it has been, and with the next slightly larger gulp, he finally focuses on the pale blue eyes looking into his. </p><p><i>Breathe,</i> Vastra repeats, her thoughts loud and clear, but her mind neatly organized and carefully hidden behind well-constructed mental defenses, with only the loud reminders for Koschei to breath being available to his panicked mind. <i>Breathe. </i></p><p>“I'm breathing…” he manages to whisper after almost two minutes of this, and only then does Vastra let go of his wrist so he can withdraw from her mind. “I'm breathing.” </p><p>“You were panicking.” </p><p>“I had <i>reason</i> to,” he snaps, turning away from her before covering his face with his hands, taking in another tremulous breath to chase away the last remnants of horror trying to drag him under once more. “I <i>have</i> reason to…” </p><p>“You saved lives today. One man who asked for death by trying to bring your own about is not worth your time. You acted in self-defense; you shouldn't torture yourself for it.” </p><p>… It takes an embarrassingly long time to realize she's talking about Boyce, but when he does figure that out, Koschei drops his hands and straightens with a scoff. </p><p>“I <i>know</i> that. He is not… He's not what is in my mind,” he answers, his anger dying quickly under the new wave of despair. </p><p>Amy is <i>gone… </i></p><p>“It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. <i>You</i> should do not,” she cuts through his self-loathing and grief, and Koschei can't help but straighten in surprise at her words. “I know that look in your eyes, for it was the same one <i>I</i> carried in mine. But know this – the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one we all must take. The gray rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it. White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise,” she explains, ignoring the couple of <i>whoa</i> from Arthur and Rory, standing at the mouth of the corridor and listening intently. “Don't give up. Whoever you have lost, you will meet them again, in due time. But until then, keep fighting. It is what they would have wanted you to do.” </p><p>Koschei looks into her eyes trying to find fault in her words or a reason why they don't apply to his situation, and realizes there are none. He <i>will</i> keep fighting to get Amy and the Doctor back, no matter how difficult such may seem right now, and he <i>will</i> take care of Rory in the interim. And when the day comes that he must die… Well, he better have a good tale by then, because he knows a black-haired little girl that will take nothing but the best of stories as price for his being late again. </p><p>He feels his lips twitch into something that may be the beginning of a smile, but while it doesn't grow further, Vastra seems to need no more to straighten with a proud purr. </p><p>“If this magic box of yours could deliver us to the surface, Mister Gandalf, I would be grateful if you could see us to a certain address. It is my house, empty for but some maids of mine who will speak no word of what they see if given the order. I believe I can procure all instruments Madame Vastra has need of to care for my Jenny with no difficulty, and she would be more than welcome to stay with us in the meantime,” Flint calls from the corridor, where he has joined Rory and Arthur, and, huffing slightly and murmuring under his breath about not being a taxi, Koschei turns back to the controls. </p><p>“Alright, give it here and I'll see what I can do.” </p><p>The TARDIS delivers, materializing in the middle of the living room, and after some hand-shaking, Flint, Vastra, Arthur and Jenny in the latter's arms, stand in the living room staring at Koschei and Rory, in the TARDIS door. </p><p>“How could we ever repay you for this?” Flint asks softly, and Vastra lifts her head, waiting for Koschei to speak so she can get to work on whatever he wants immediately. </p><p>However, Koschei huffs and shakes his head instead. </p><p>“I know where to find you. I'll come and collect when I have need of anything you could offer,” he tells them, not sure if he's actually serious about his words, but all three of them nod nevertheless. “Don't get yourselves killed before that.” </p><p>“Sure,” Arthur laughs, grinning before his smile turns softer, more serious. “Any good advice for the future?” </p><p>Koschei thinks for a moment before deciding it is not worth it to check their timelines, instead leaning against the TARDIS and looking at each and every single one of them before turning to the red of the coals still smoldering in the fireplace. </p><p>Red like a little girl's hair, and like an apple with a smiling face carved clumsily into it. </p><p>“It is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of love and kindness,” he tells them as much as he reminds himself, but when he finally looks up at them, he manages half a smile to send them off. “Don't forget that.” </p><p>“We won't,” Vastra promises while the other two merely nod. </p><p>“Well then, I wish you both safe travels, Mister Gandalf and Mister Rory. You will always be welcome in my home. Now, come along, Mister Tucker, Jenny's room is this way.” </p><p>“Thank you, Doctor Gandalf and Rory,” Arthur tells them hurriedly before following after Flint, completely missing Koschei's scowl and Rory's grin. “And for the last time, Mister Flint, it's Tolkien! Arthur Reuel Tolkien!” </p><p>Rory chokes on his next breath and Koschei has to pat him on the back a couple of times before he recovers his composure, though his eyes are still wide as saucers. </p><p>“Did he seriously say <i>Tolkien?</i> That was J.R.R. Tolkien's <i>dad?!</i> But I told him all about <i>The Hobbit!</i> And you kept quoting Gandalf and—Oh my God, did we seriously inspire <i>The Lord of the Rings?!”</i> he squeaks, dazed, and Koschei exchanges a confused look with Vastra before they both shrug. </p><p>“Come on, Rory, I think you've had enough excitement for today. Do you know where the kitchen is? There's a good lad, just go down and heat up some water, I'll join you for tea in a jiffy,” Koschei coos, but Rory is too stunned by whatever Arthur's surname means to mind his tone, simply wandering into the TARDIS in a daze. “I think the poor guy needs a nap.” </p><p>“Agreed,” Vastra hums, and when Koschei turns to her again, she seems to grow shy for a moment before once more meeting his eyes with determination. “I hope you find what you are looking for. And remember, you have friends in this house, allies to call on to when the need arises. Do not forget us.” </p><p>“I sincerely doubt I ever could,” he answers honestly, and Vastra clasps his hand in a firm grip before she follows after Flint and Arthur. </p><p>As soon as she's out of sight, Koschei drops his smile and reaches into a pocket, drawing out a handkerchief-wrapped parcel that shouldn't have fit in there if not for the bigger-on-the-inside nature of the pocket itself. </p><p>He can smell the artron energy on whatever he pulled out of the crack even before he starts unwrapping it, that hint of something <i>so familiar</i> in it teasing him as much with hope as it does with dread, but finally alone, Koschei doesn't hesitate in unwrapping it. </p><p>It's wood. Blue frame, white pane with black letters. Edges ripped and burnt, as if whatever it had belonged to had shattered in an explosion. </p><p>Koschei's hearts stop. </p><p>Slowly, he takes a step further out of the TARDIS and, never looking away from the burnt piece in his hands, he turns around to face her, lifts the piece— </p><p>And his breath catches in his throat as the broken piece finds its place atop the undamaged version of itself. </p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The title is the same as the fourth chapter of the second book of <i>The Fellowship of the Ring,</i> 'A Journey in the Dark'. In it, the fellowship travels to the gates of Moria, where they must deal with a creature in the lake in front of it, Gandalf eventually opens the doors of Moria by speaking the correct password, and they reach the tomb of Balin.</p><p>My apologies if the writing and/or continuity for this chapter is choppy or awkward, as it has been written in fits and starts and been erased, modified and shuffled around <i>a lot.</i> In short, writing this thing was <i>Hell.</i> Putting aside Real Life, I had to erase and rewrite this episode twice because it wouldn't behave, it kept getting stuck - and then, when it finally wrote itself, I had to take some time to see if that twist at the end was something I would be able to work with for the rest of the season. Turns out I can. And turns out Amy wouldn't hesitate to push her Raggedy Man out of the path of a bullet after all they've been through. All that about her being <i>his babysitter</i> was serious, apparently…</p><p>So, now that I've managed to get the chapter written and the future ones planned and plothole-proved, it's back to the adventures of the Raggedy Doctor and Ame-uh, that is, Rory Williams. This will be interesting…</p><p>Yes, Arthur is meant to be J.R.R. Tolkien's dad. He probably left a diary or something behind, since he died when Tolkien was a baby, or his Mom knew the tales well enough to repeat them to her sons. After this adventure, Arthur left the construction business and finally got that job at the bank, which then sent him to South Africa, where his two sons were born.</p><p>As for the Flints and Vastra… Well, <i>their</i> story contains spoilers. We'll see them again.</p><p>And yes, I know Vastra has an origin story with the Ninth Doctor in a comic (?), but I haven't seen that so I'm ignoring it. It's hard enough to keep up with the TV series continuity as it is without adding all the rest…</p></blockquote></div></div>
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